Mother charged in death of toddler from fentanyl overdose in Stanwood

STANWOOD – Last week, prosecutors charged a mother with manslaughter in the death of her toddler from an accidental fentanyl overdose near Lake Goodwin in 2022.

On January 12, 2022, Morgan Bassett bought $100 worth of “Oxys,” she later told police. She smoked eight of them that day, inhaling the smoke through a straw and burning the pills on foil with a butane lighter. She reported smoking a few more the next day.

Two days later, Bassett, now 34, and her daughter, identified in court documents by her initials AB, slept in their manufactured home near Lake Goodwin until after noon. Bassett woke up to find her 1½-year-old daughter blue and not breathing, according to the charges filed last week in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Bassett called 911. At the direction of a 911 dispatcher, she took AB to the kitchen and performed CPR, court records show. Paramedics later pronounced the toddler dead.

That day, investigators discovered a blue pill on a cheetah-print blanket on the bed where Bassett was sleeping with her daughter, the indictment says. Under the blanket, they reportedly found more blue pills labeled “M30.” In addition to the pills, investigators also found candy in the bed.

Investigators discovered additional drugs throughout the bedroom, including methamphetamine.

Bassett told police she would smoke in the bathroom or on her bed while a man who lived with her watched AB

According to court documents, an autopsy report found “solid blue fragments” in the girl’s stomach. Her blood reportedly showed “very high levels of fentanyl.” Her blood also showed low levels of methamphetamine.

The Snohomish County Coroner’s Office determined that the toddler died from acute fentanyl poisoning.

In a police interview, Bassett said AB had no known health problems. She initially claimed to have been clean for 18 months, but later admitted she was still abusing drugs, the charges say. She said the blue pill was prescription oxycodone.

The man, who had lived with Bassett, identified the pills as counterfeit fentanyl. He said he believed Bassett knew the pills she had purchased were fentanyl and not prescription drugs, the indictment says.

Toxicological tests later confirmed that the blue pills were fentanyl, the indictment states.

Last week, prosecutors charged Bassett with first-degree manslaughter.

Local authorities recently raised the alarm about accidental fentanyl overdoses among young children. In April alone, the Everett fire department responded to three cases in which children had come into contact with the dangerous drug. A 13-month-old child died.

In May 2023, police reported that a one-year-old girl died after taking her mother’s fentanyl in an Everett motel room.

Assistant District Attorney Jarett Goodkin had no objection to Bassett remaining in custody pending trial.

Bassett is scheduled to go to trial on July 25. As of Monday, no attorney was listed for her in court records.

She has not been convicted of a crime and, if convicted, faces 6.5 to 8.5 years in prison under state sentencing guidelines.

Jake Goldstein Street: 425-339-3439; [email protected]; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.