Mississippi Toddler Test Positive for Meth and Amphetamines, Caretakers Charged

Authorities from northwestern Mississippi discovered that a 3-year-old tested positive for amphetamines and methamphetamine. It prompted an investigation and has landed a woman in jail, while the man is still on the run.

Giving drugs to a child

The caretakers of the toddler, 35-year-old Cassie Neely, and 47-year-old Eric Leathers were responsible for giving drugs to the toddler. According to the Lee County Sheriff's Department, the two of them are also taking care of other children in their house.

All of the children who were in their care have now been removed from the home and are placed under the care of Lee County Child Protective Services.

The investigation of the incident revealed that Leathers and Neely had a long list of criminal histories and that both of them tested positive for methamphetamine, as reported by the department.

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The deputies immediately obtained warrants for both of them, for felony child abuse. Neely was taken into custody on August 4. Leathers, on the other hand, is believed to be driving a silver Ford F-150 pickup truck and he may still be in the Mooreville area, which is 8 miles from his home in Plantersville.

Leathers is now on the run, and authorities are still looking for him. Meanwhile, Neely is in the Lee County jail on a $100,000 bond. She also refused to give more information about where Leathers is or where he is going.

Similar incidents

In February 2020, a babysitter in Singapore was arrested after she gave medication that is used to treat insomnia and anxiety disorders to two babies under her care.

One of the babies was just 5 months old, while the other baby was 11 months old. The babies are not related to each other and the 11-month-old baby is the daughter of another woman.

According to reports, the 5-month-old baby was hospitalized for days after her mother found her to be cranky and drowsy. The mother, who was 29-years-old at the time the incident took place, testified that she called the police after the hospital reported that 10 substances were found in her daughter's body.

The record shows that some of the substances found were sleeping drug temazepam, antihistamine chlorpheniramine, and aprazolam, which is used to treat those with anxiety.

The babysitter, then 38-year-old Sa'adiah Jamari, is accused of two counts of administering poisons to the babies with the intent to harm them. The babysitter allegedly committed the offenses in November 2016 and December 2016.

The court documents did not state if there were any drugs found in the body of the 11-month-old baby. Jamari started taking care of the babies in November 2016.

After the first few visits, the mother noticed that her baby was cranky and would throw her bottle when she tries to feed her. She also found that the baby's eyes were swollen and were drooping down.

At first, she thought that her baby was teething and she would place a fever patch on her baby's forehead as she thought she was having a fever because of it. In late November, she took her child to KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and that was when they found out about the drugs in her system.