Ryder Salmen overdosed on Xanax, methadone and the painkiller Opana at 8 months old and now mother Sarah Stephens, 32, faces murder and child endangerment charges in Sacramento County. The drug addict mom was previously warned to stop breastfeeding after medical tests showed high levels of methadone in her son’s blood.
A baby boy died in California after drinking his mother’s drug-laced milk.
Ryder Salmen was 8 months old when he overdosed on Xanax, methadone and the painkiller Opana, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Baby Ryder’s death was at first a mystery. Citrus Heights police found the boy dead in September 2012 after they were called to an apartment for an unresponsive infant. Toxicology reports later revealed a poisonous cocktail of drugs killed the child, police said in a statement.
The Sacramento County District Attorney has now charged the mother, 32-year-old Sarah Ann Stephens, with second-degree murder and felony child endangerment. Stephens intentionally fed the boy the lethal milk, police said.
Ryder’s grandfather, Alan Salmen, said his family knew the baby was in trouble and fought for custody.