KENNER, La. — A Kenner mother has been indicted on murder charges after her toddler child died of what was believed to be a fentanyl overdose on New Year's Eve 2022.
A grand jury Thursday handed up the indictment charging Alexis Callero, 34, with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
Kenner Police said they responded to a report of a child that had stopped breathing in a Kenner home. Officers who arrived on the scene tried unsuccessfully to revive the child, who was pronounced dead.
The police department said detectives conducted a preliminary test on the child's nasal mucus that indicated the presence of Fentanyl. A search warrant was conducted at the home, and police say small amounts of drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in the bedroom where the child slept.
"It's no longer an uncommon occurrence," Capt. Michael Cunningham with Kenner PD said. "It's very common now to go on scene where there is drug use and we find children in there."
Police say drug residue in the bedroom tested positive for Fentanyl and toxicology reports from an autopsy later confirmed that there were "significant levels" of Fentanyl in the child's system.
"The way it was described to us, it was enough Fentanyl to kill an adult," Cunningham said.
The obstruction case against Callero stems from a call in summer of 2022 when a man was found dead in her front yard. The man was determined to have died of a fentanyl overdose. Kenner Police believe Callero dragged the unconscious man into the front yard after he had overdosed.