From staff reports
A Franklin woman is facing endangerment charges in connection with an overdose incident involving her son.
Franklin police said in a criminal complaint that the 10-month-old son of Kiah Scheffer, 36, was taken from her residence on Grant Street in Franklin to UPMC Northwest by ambulance Aug. 6 due to symptoms of a narcotic overdose.
Children and Youth Services told police on Aug. 7 that information from UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh indicated the infant had tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, the complaint said.
Just before her son displayed symptoms of an overdose, Scheffer said he had been playing with a water bottle that she said she didn’t know the origins of, the complaint said.
She gave the water bottle, which still had some liquid in it, to police who had it tested, the compliant said. The liquid tested positive for fentanyl as well as trace amounts of meth and cocaine, according to the complaint.
After a lengthy investigation, police determined Scheffer purchased fentanyl-laced meth about Aug. 4 at a location on Grant Street in Franklin which she took home, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 6, she gave her son a water bottle that had become contaminated with meth laced with fentanyl and he ingested the contaminated water, causing him to overdose, the complaint said.
Scheffer knew she had recently purchased drugs and suspected that her son had overdosed but failed to tell EMS and hospital personnel about the possibility of narcotics being present in her home, further endangering her son, according to the complaint.
Scheffer has been charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children and misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and possession of a controlled substance.
She was arraigned Monday and placed in the Venango County jail after being unable to post bail, and her preliminary hearing is scheduled Oct. 4 in Central Court.
