Second Canoga Park toddler dies after exposure to deadly drugs, police say
Two days after his twin brother died of a suspected overdose, a second 3-year-old boy died after also being exposed to deadly drugs, law enforcement officials said.
The toddler twins were rushed to the hospital last week after they were found unresponsive at their Canoga Park home.
Josiah James was pronounced dead at the hospital Thursday, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. His brother, whose name has not been released, died Saturday, according to Officer Kevin Terzes, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson.
The boy had been in grave condition since his arrival at the hospital, according to law enforcement sources who had knowledge of the case but were not authorized to speak publicly.
Jestice James was arrested on suspicion of murder after her 3-year-old son Josiah died following what law enforcement sources say was an exposure to narcotics at their home.
The boys had just celebrated their third birthday on July 9.
Their mother, 22-year-old Jestice James, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held in lieu of $2-million bail.
LAPD officials have declined to expound on the circumstances surrounding the boys’ deaths, other than revealing that they ingested or were exposed to “an unknown substance,” according to a news release last week. The official cause of death in both cases remains under investigation.
However, law enforcement sources alleged that the toddlers came into contact with drugs laced with fentanyl, the highly potent synthetic opioid. The sources claimed the drugs were easily accessible in parts of the boys’ Canoga Park home.
There has been a recent surge in cases in which babies and toddlers have been killed by fentanyl, as the highly addictive drug has become increasingly prevalent on the black market.
Earlier this year, a 2-year-old boy in Lancaster died after being exposed to fentanyl during a visit with his mother that had been approved by Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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