NORRISTOWN, PA — A Norristown mother and her boyfriend face criminal charges after a young child died from a fentanyl overdose over the summer, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s announced Friday.
The incident occurred back on July 15 at a home on the 1000 block of Willow Street.
Kristen Sabatino, 31, and Matthew Santiago, 35 were long time drug users who had purchased and used various drugs in the days prior, police said.
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Sabatino’s 6-year-old child, Dominic Lyons, found some of those drugs, a lethal mix of fentanyl and xylazine, and ingested them at some point on Saturday night, according to a criminal complaint. Xylazine was described by authorities as a veterinary sedative known on the street as “Tranq.”
It’s not clear where the drugs were left or how exactly the child got his hands on them.
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Dominic wasn’t feeling well when he went to bed Saturday night and he was found dead in his bunk bed by about 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
The investigation found that the level of the drugs in Dominic’s system indicated he had to have ingested the drugs, and could not have been exposed in some other way.
Sabatino and Santiago both face charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. Santiago was arrested on Oct. 25 and he was booked at Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $1 million bail. His preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 3.
Sabatino was arrested at a hotel in Lancaster on Oct. 27 and a hearing will be scheduled at her upcoming arraignment.
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