STANWOOD — Prosecutors last week charged a mother with manslaughter in her toddler’s accidental fentanyl overdose death in 2022 near Lake Goodwin.
On Jan. 12, 2022, Morgan Bassett bought $100 worth of “oxys,” she reportedly later told police. She smoked eight of them that day, using a straw to consume the smoke while 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 A.B., slept in past noon in their manufactured home near Lake Goodwin. 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 A.B. to the kitchen and performed CPR, according to court papers. Paramedics later pronounced the toddler dead.
That day, investigators saw a blue pill on top of a cheetah-print blanket on the bed where Bassett slept with her daughter, the charges say. Under the blanket, they reportedly found more blue pills with “M30” stamped on them. Detectives also found candy in the bed, alongside the pills.
Investigators discovered more drugs, including methamphetamine, throughout the bedroom.
Bassett told police she would smoke in the bathroom or on her bed, while a man who was staying with her would watch A.B.
An autopsy report found “solid blue fragments” in the girl’s stomach, according to court documents. Her blood reportedly tested positive for a “very high level” of fentanyl. Her blood also had a low level of methamphetamine.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the toddler died of acute fentanyl intoxication.
In a police interview, Bassett said A.B. hadn’t had any known health issues. She initially reported being clean for 18 months, but later acknowledged she was still abusing drugs, according to the charges. She said the blue pill was prescription oxycodone.
The man who had been living with Bassett identified the pills as counterfeit fentanyl. He reported believing Bassett knew the pills she bought were fentanyl and not prescription drugs, according to the charges.
Toxicology testing later confirmed the blue pills were fentanyl, the charges say.
Last week, prosecutors charged Bassett with first-degree manslaughter.
Local authorities have recently been sounding the alarm about accidental fentanyl overdoses in young children. In one week in April, firefighters in Everett responded to three cases of children exposed to the dangerous drug, including a 13-month-old who died.
In May 2023, police reported a 1-year-old girl died after ingesting her mother’s fentanyl in an Everett motel room.
Deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin didn’t object to Bassett remaining out of custody while the case is pending.
Bassett is set to be arraigned July 25. As of Monday, court records didn’t list an attorney for her.
She has no felony convictions. If convicted as charged, she would face 6½ to 8½ years in prison under state sentencing guidelines.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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