Parents charged after baby girl dies from fentanyl overdose

A US couple has been charged in the opioid overdose of their 18-month-old daughter who died on Christmas Day. 

An autopsy revealed little Ava Floyd had ingested up to 15 times the amount of fentanyl authorities had ever seen in the Michigan county in the last 30 overdose deaths.

Antonio Floyd, 28, and Shantanice Barksdale, 27, were arraigned earlier this week and jailed on second-degree murder charges, Prosecutor Eric Smith told the Detroit Free Press.

Mr Smith says the couple was involved in drug trafficking and processed and packaged fentanyl for distribution at their home.

Authorities believe Ava drank something containing the drug. The baby was taken to a grandmother's home where she stopped breathing.

“The nation is experiencing an opioid epidemic,” Mr Smith said. 

“However, to see an infant experience such a tragic death on Christmas morning as a result of ingesting a large quantity of her parents’ fentanyl is truly gut-wrenching.”

“This type of criminal behaviour will be met with the full weight of this prosecutor's office.”

Fentanyl is a painkiller estimated to be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. 

The couple, who had three children, face preliminary examinations on January 29.

Lawyers for the accused declined to comment.

With AP