EL PASO COUNTY — An affidavit released Friday afternoon provides details on the death of a 4-year-old girl from a suspected fentanyl overdose and the arrest of her mother for child abuse resulting in death.
The investigating officer states the daughter, Acelynn Staton-Contreras, likely found pills inside a container stored on a bathroom sill.
According to the affidavit, Emma Staton told the officer she awoke Tuesday night to find her daughter in distress, gasping for air, and that she had vomited. After noticing a container with pills had been moved from the window sill to the toilet seat, the mother administered one dose of Narcan in an attempt to counteract the effects of fentanyl.
She first called 911 from her iPad around 9 p.m. Tuesday night but hung up instead of asking for help. Deputies were still sent to the home where Staton told them nothing was wrong and the call was an accident.
When her boyfriend arrived to drive the mother and daughter to the hospital he saw the deputies and waited until they left to come to the door.
Staton told the investigating officer she got another dose of Narcan from the boyfriend which she administered to her daughter. She also grabbed the drugs from the bathroom to carry with her in a Hello Kitty bag.
The affidavit does not state the dosages used were Narcan. That information comes from the virtual advisement hearing in which Judge Deborah Pearson said that was the medication used twice on the child.
About an hour later after deputies left, Staton left the home with Acelynn in distress and her boyfriend driving the car. 911 was called one more time as the daughter resumed gasping for air and "turned blue", according to the affidavit.
The officer notes the mother told the call taker what had happened to her daughter. Police and medics tried to save the girl's life outside the Love's Truck Stop off I-25 in Fountain, but were unsuccessful.
The El Paso County Coroner's Office was called out to take possession of the girl's body and later performed the autopsy from which they determined brain swelling witnessed is consistent with an overdose.
Fountain Police Chief Christopher Herberer told News5 the death was "fentanyl-related."
Officers later searched the home for evidence. Combined with the search of the Hello Kitty bag, officers recovered 45 fentanyl pills, 3.2 grams of methamphetamine, and several pipes.
An El Paso County judge has ordered Emma Staton held on $500,000 bond on charges of child abuse resulting in death, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was originally being held on a $50,000 bond.
The affidavit from Fountain Police does not include the name of Staton's boyfriend. There is no information from investigators on charges being filed against additional people in this case.
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