LYNNWOOD, Wash. - Nearly four years after a 2-year-old boy was found unresponsive at a Lynnwood home and later died, his mother is facing a first-degree manslaughter charge in connection with his death, according to FOX 13 Seattle.
The 44-year-old mother was arrested Oct. 6 and booked into the Snohomish County Jail on a charge of first-degree manslaughter domestic violence, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office. Just 24 hours later, a judge ordered she be held on $100,000 bail after prosecutors argued she failed to appear for a court hearing the previous week.
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit detectives were called to a Lynnwood home on Nov. 12, 2022, after the little boy was found unresponsive. Deputies performed lifesaving measures before the boy was taken to Swedish Edmonds, where he died. Investigators said the child was under his mother's care the night before and the morning of his death. Detectives also found drug residue inside the home, substances they believed were fentanyl, heroin and other drug paraphernalia, according to the sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office said the investigation involved numerous search warrants, a large amount of forensic evidence, laboratory and toxicology testing, and an autopsy conducted by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner. In July 2023, detectives referred the case to the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office for first-degree manslaughter domestic violence charges, and prosecutors ultimately filed the charge. As of Wednesday, the mother has not been convicted.
During Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors asked the judge to keep the mother's $100,000 bail, noting she had failed to appear for a hearing on Oct. 2. Prosecutors also pointed to four new misdemeanor convictions stemming from a December 2025 incident, including three counts of third-degree theft and one count of possession of a controlled substance, and told the court she had not been in contact with her defense attorney. Her attorney asked the judge to quash the warrant and release her on her own recognizance, saying she completed inpatient treatment earlier this year, is enrolled in intensive outpatient treatment in Lynnwood, has been living at a women's Oxford House since August and is working at an Amazon distribution center. The attorney described the missed hearing as a misunderstanding or miscommunication. The judge declined to release her, saying the court's concern was whether she would return.
The mother's arrest comes about a week after the Lynnwood City Council approved an ordinance making it a gross misdemeanor to knowingly or recklessly expose a child to a controlled substance. The ordinance passed 5-1 on Sept. 28 and carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Chief Cole Langdon told councilmembers the goal was not simply punishment, but intervention and connecting people with treatment. "I want this person to get help. I want to try and break that cycle, but I need to take care of that child, and I need to do something that's going to provide for meaningful intervention," Langdon said. Councilmember Isabel Mata questioned whether the measure could ultimately perpetuate a cycle of incarceration. The city's judge told the council that cases under the new ordinance could involve pretrial diversion programs requiring treatment, classes and remaining crime-free, with probation officers monitoring those agreements.