Boston Parents Charged Over Death of 5-Week-Old Daughter Due to Fentanyl Intoxication

The parents of a five-week-old girl from Boston have been charged with the death of their young daughter due to fentanyl intoxication.

The suspects were identified as 31-year-old Raynell Reed and 52-year-old Gerard Winn, who were both charged with manslaughter and were held on $100,000 bail. The development comes after the two individuals were indicted by a grand jury last week.

Boston Parents Charged Over Death of Five-Week-Old Girl

Authorities said that Reed gave birth to the five-week-old girl at their Dorchester home on Dec. 5, 2024. The child was roughly two months premature, failed to gain sufficient weight, and was found to be malnourished. Prosecutors argued that the parents never tried to seek medical care for their daughter.

Reed called 911 on Jan. 9, 2025, and reported to officials that the five-week-old girl was not breathing. Authorities later pronounced the child dead at Boston Medical Center, where she was found to weigh only 2.5 pounds, according to WCVB.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the young girl died from acute intoxication due to fentanyl and cocaine in a premature infant with malnourishment and sepsis. Additionally, prosecutors said that toxicology confirmed that both substances were present in the infant's blood.

They also alleged that the parents of the infant used illegal substances in the newborn's presence, which resulted in her drug exposure. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said that it was too difficult to conceive of an incident that was more tragic than what happened to the five-week-old girl.

The District Attorney added that the allegation that the parents of the young girl were using dangerous drugs in her presence added to the "terrible aspects of this crime," the Boston Herald reported.

A Separate Incident

There was a separate incident in Louisiana involving an infant found dead inside a tote, with the child's 14-year-old mother being charged by officials. The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office said that the teenage girl is being charged with first-degree murder, among other crimes.

The investigation into the incident started on Nov. 21, 2025, when deputies were called to a hospital regarding a teen who was seeking treatment after giving birth at home. Authorities said that deputies responded to the home in Denham Springs and discovered the teen had given birth, and the child was placed in a "tote," as if to hide it.

Officials said that when emergency responders located the tote, they found that the infant inside was already dead. Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said that medical personnel believe that the child was carried to full term, born alive, and killed immediately after birth, as per WAFB.