Parents charged in toddler’s Christmas Day fentanyl death

The parents of a 1-year-old boy who fatally overdosed on fentanyl on Christmas Day have been charged, according to a news release from the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

Jeffrey Joseph Weidell, 38, and Jasmine Nicole Ryan, 32, each face one count of second-degree manslaughter.

Prosecutors say the 18-month-old boy’s death was determined to be from fentanyl toxicity. He was identified by police as Jackson Joseph Weidell.

The couple’s two other children are in the care of Ramsey County Child Protection.

According to the criminal complaints, first responders were dispatched to a home on the 1000 block of 5th Street East in St. Paul on Christmas Day on a report of a child who wasn’t breathing and who had been exposed to fentanyl.

Officers found Weidell sitting on a couch with a 4- or 5-year-old girl. Clothing, diapers, trash and foil were strewn all over the room.

Weidell told police he had gone to sleep on a living room chair when Jackson crawled up to lay next to him. When he woke up, Jackson’s lips were blue and he wasn’t breathing.

Court documents state that officers saw crumpled foil with suspected drug residue on the couch. Weidell told officers he didn’t know how much fentanyl Jackson had consumed and said to ask Ryan since the drugs were hers.

Officers found Ryan in the kitchen giving Jackson CPR. When asked if Jackson had ingested or choked on anything, Ryan reportedly told them, “fentanyl.” She added that she had given Jackson Narcan before police got there.

Ryan told officers that she was in the shower for half an hour and Jackson was with Weidell. She added that Jackson had probably ingested less than a quarter gram of fentanyl that had been melted on a piece of foil and that Weidell had previously smoked fentanyl throughout the home.

Officers had everyone leave the home to prevent further fentanyl exposure. They found a knife and several crumpled pieces of tin foil in Weidell’s pockets and a large piece of tinfoil with suspected drug residue on the couch where he and Jackson had been sleeping and where the girl had been sitting.

Court documents state that an officer picked up a 1-month-old from a crib and found a white substance on his head and that he was wearing a very old and soiled diaper.

Officers also found a line of white powder with a credit card next to it in the bathroom — off the kitchen, where Jackson was receiving CPR. Ryan later told police that Weidell sometimes smokes fentanyl in the bathroom.

Ryan later told police that when she came downstairs, she saw Jackson lying face-down on the couch and Weidell looking at him. Weidell told her that Jackson’s lips were blue, so she called 911 and started giving Jackson CPR.

Court documents state that Ryan “did not seem overly concerned about [Jackson]” while in the back of the squad. She didn’t cry or show much emotion, and seemed out of it and under the influence of something. She didn’t ask how Jackson was.

Weidell told police that he used to smoke fentanyl but no longer does. He added that Ryan was supposed to be in recovery but still smoked fentanyl.

While waiting to speak with investigators at police headquarters, Ryan reportedly said Weidell needed to tell the truth because it was his fentanyl.

While executing a search warrant of the home, investigators found:

• Burned foil with residue on it and a straw underneath a body pillow on the living room couch
• Straws, burned foil and Weidell’s wallet on an ottoman in the living room
• A bag containing 0.13 grams of methamphetamine in Weidell’s wallet
• A box of shotgun shells in the kitchen cabinet
• Burned foil, tubing with burned ends, and a plate with a line of 0.32 grams of fentanyl in a bathroom
• Burned foil, a bag containing 0.23 grams of methamphetamine and baggie tear-offs in the other bathroom
• Pipes and straws in Ryan’s purse

Court documents note that child protection is currently involved with their family due to the newborn testing positive for fentanyl when he was born. Ryan told police that she has been lying to child protection and saying Weidell hasn’t been using drugs.

Weidell told police that the newborn was born on fentanyl because Ryan used it while she was pregnant.

Ryan had her first court appearance on Thursday. Bail was set at $1 million.

A warrant has been issued for Weidell’s arrest, as he is currently out on bail for an active theft case, a court official said.