A Vadito mother who deputies call a known drug dealer was charged with child abuse in the apparent overdose death of her 6-year-old daughter.
Allyson Fernandez, 34, is accused of leaving drugs and other pieces of drug paraphernalia lying throughout her home, including in the reach of the girl. Fernandez so far faces one charge of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, two charges of possessing a controlled substance and one charge of having drug paraphernalia, according to filings in 8th Judicial District Court.
The girl, whom the Taos County Sheriff’s Office and the state Children, Youth and Families Department declined to identify, died Tuesday morning, CYFD spokesperson Jake Thompson wrote in an email.
“The tragic death of this 6 year old little girl is sad, and troubling on many levels,” 8th Judicial District Attorney Marcus Montoya wrote in an email. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family of this 6 year old.”
It was not clear if Fernandez’s charges would be upgraded given the death of her daughter. Montoya said authorities’ investigation was not yet complete and that medical and autopsy results were not yet fully available.
“Once more medical evidence is available, our office will work with law enforcement to ensure the most accurate charging and prosecutorial decisions if anything needs to be amended,” he wrote.
Aleksandar Kostich, a public defender representing Fernandez, wrote in a statement his office “very recently received this case and will be looking at the allegations.”
Fernandez faced investigations by state and local law enforcement before the girl’s death.
“When you attempt to do everything you can as an investigator into any case, especially in cases with kiddos or minors, and it seems to appear that there’s been a substantiation from other agencies that are assisting, and those things don’t particularly go the way you want in order to keep a kiddo safe, it’s always difficult,” Donivan Byers, a detective with the sheriff’s office, said in an interview.
Fernandez was the subject of seven CYFD investigations since 2020, Thompson wrote, four of which yielded substantiated allegations of abuse or neglect.
Thompson did not describe the nature of those allegations, though he said in the most recent investigation in December, Fernandez agreed to counseling and inpatient drug treatment.
The girl was never removed from the home, he added.
“CYFD extends its deepest condolences to the family for their loss. We are heartbroken by the death of this child,” Thompson wrote.
Prosecutors have filed to keep Fernandez jailed pending trial; a hearing has been scheduled for May 11.
Sheriff’s detectives were called Sunday to Holy Cross Medical Center in Taos, where the girl had been taken in critical condition, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant.
There, they spoke to the girl’s aunt, who said she was contacted by Fernandez for help taking the girl to the hospital.
When the aunt arrived, she told police Fernandez was “just screaming” and the girl was lifeless on the floor; the aunt tried to perform CPR on her. The aunt said she had previous concerns about the girl’s welfare and Fernandez’s home, which she described as “dirty and disgusting,” according to the affidavit.
Fernandez indicated the girl was sick before she died, telling detectives she had been in and out of the hospital for several days before the incident, was diagnosed with croup and vomited and “seized” before becoming unresponsive, the affidavit states.
One detective noted she had previously investigated allegations that Fernandez had abused and neglected her daughter.
Detectives later returned to Fernandez’s home, where they found several pieces of foil, some of which had what appeared to be drug residue in them, as well as other pieces of drug paraphernalia, the affidavit states.
Thompson wrote the girl tested negative for any substances at the time of her death, according to CYFD’s preliminary findings, though the sheriff’s office found white powder near where the girl had been lying that tested positive for cocaine, according to the affidavit.