Green Bay Parents Charged With Child Neglect After Toddler Dies from Fentanyl Poisoning

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By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Jul 13, 12:03 am

A pair of Green Bay parents are facing charges of child neglect, among other felonies, after their 18-month-old child died from fentanyl poisoning.

On Tuesday, May 3, 2022, Derrick Young, 23, and Tyana Putzlocker, 22, found their son unconscious and hardly breathing when they woke up from their naps, so they called emergency services for help. When the team arrived, they found the mother attempting to perform CPR on her son.

The emergency services immediately took the child to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to ABC 2 News, the medical examiner did not find any signs of physical abuse, but there was an alarming level of fentanyl poisoning in the child's body. The authorities concluded that the 18-month-old boy accidentally got hold of the powerful drug in their home.

Parents were drug users and sellers

This was not the first time Young and Putzlocker placed their child in harm's way. In November 2021, the parents were also investigated by Wisconsin's Brown County Drug Task Force agents, who found guns and narcotics, including fentanyl pills, in their basement.

Young was sent to jail for drug trafficking and possession, but he's been out of custody after paying the bond. By this time, Young and Putzlocker had lost custody of their toddler and an older son. The kids were transferred to their grandparents' home, but the parents were allowed supervised visits, per WGEM.

However, on the day of the child's death, the grandmother took the kids to their parent's house for a visit. Apparently, the grandmother stepped out of the house when the family was taking naps.

Young and Putzlocker initially denied that they had been using or dealing drugs, but the authorities discovered their social media profiles with chats about drug transactions. The parents then admitted to their criminal activities. Young also admitted that he keeps fentanyl pills inside a closet.

The father, however, said that their toddler might have gotten the pills from Putzlocker because she is allegedly careless about her drug use.

On the other hand, the mother told the police that their son might have picked up the substance when she was doing laundry in the basement with the toddler joining her.

Authorities took both parents into custody on Monday, July 6, with a $25,000 bail on Young and $10,000 on Putzlocker. The court has not yet listed the defendant's name.

Parents warned of candy-colored Fentanyl pills

Meanwhile, the police in Monterey, California, had warned parents that there are rainbow or candy-colored fentanyl sold in the streets that could be very attractive to children, making them easy prey to fentanyl poisoning.

"We encourage parents to speak with their children about the dangers of this deadly drug," the authorities said in a Facebook post. "Just one use can be fatal."

Over 70 percent of drug overdose cases in the U.S. in 2020 involved fentanyl use. The illegal substance, often mixed with heroin, is the leading cause of the surging drug problem in the country, with over 107,000 deaths in the last year.