Parents acquitted after heroin poisoning of two-year-old

“I am obliged to check a confession,” said the judge in her reasons. In this case, I was unable to determine how the heroin got into the little girl’s body. It could not be clarified “whether it was almost certain that this happened in the way in which it was accused. “I cannot conclude with any degree of certainty that you have initiated a course of gross neglect,” the judge noted. A “causal connection” between the drug use or the father’s behavior and the associated consequences for the daughter have not been proven.

The judge remarked to the mother: “I was a bit surprised that you were charged. I don’t see any wrongdoing on your part. It became clear relatively quickly that this could only be an acquittal.” The two acquittals are not legally binding. The public prosecutor initially made no statement.

She had accused her parents of grossly neglecting their duty of care by allowing the girl to have access to heroin in their apartment in Vienna-Favoriten. The gift entered the little one’s blood, causing heroin poisoning that led to a “deep comatose state,” as forensic pathologist Nikolaus Klupp explained. On the seven-level Glasgow Coma Score (GSC), it is known that the girl was in the sixth level when the little one received emergency medical care in the hospital. The oxygen saturation in the blood is 60 percent. If the saturation level is below 80 percent, life is at risk. The child initially “deteriorated further” in the hospital, said Klupp. Only when the girl was given an antidote to morphine and opiates did her condition stabilize. “Without emergency medical measures, heroin-related respiratory arrest would have occurred and that would have led to the child’s death,” emphasized the coroner.

The 43-year-old father made a confession during the trial. He was using heroin at the time, although his partner didn’t know anything about it. “It was stressful. Life is difficult,” he explained about his drug use. He had the heroin with him in a plastic bag in his trouser pocket and must have “lost” some of it in the apartment: “I’m really, really sorry. It was the worst thing that happened in my life.” Some heroin fell out of his pocket and his daughter must have put it in her mouth, he assumed.

The girl’s mother, who is a year younger, pleads “not guilty.” They had no idea that their partner was addicted to drugs: “I didn’t know anything. We never talked about drugs. That wasn’t an issue for us at all.” She and her daughter had a “very good” relationship with her father: “She loved him.” She has since separated from the man and there is only contact by telephone.

On the morning of January 21, 2024, the 42-year-old noticed that her daughter was unusually quiet and seemed sleepy. When the little one’s head fell forward, the woman called emergency services. The two-year-old was quickly taken to the hospital, which saved her life, as the judge agreed with the mother: “If she hadn’t called the doctors, she wouldn’t be there anymore.”

The toxicological expert Günter Paul Gmeiner was unable to clarify how the poison got into the two-year-old’s body. Transmission through cuddling and caressing – the father had explained that he always took the heroin out of the plastic bag and sniffed it – was not completely ruled out if the man did not touch his hands after consuming heroin. “Very small amounts” were found on a ceiling in the apartment, “which were not visible to the naked eye,” said Gmeiner.

The day before, several of the father’s acquaintances had been in the apartment that the parents had just moved into and had helped him move. This was important when it came to the judicial determination of the truth, as there may have been drug users among these men who may have had something slipping out of their pockets.

What is certain is that the two-year-olds came into contact with the heroin ten to 15 minutes before the first symptoms appeared and may have taken a small amount orally. This corresponded to “one prize salt” or “five to ten percent of a Tic Tac candy,” the toxicologist explained the magnitude.

The girl has recovered from the incident and is now back in good health. After the MA 11 initially wanted to place the girl with foster parents, it turned out after an earlier examination “that she is best cared for with her own mother,” explained her defense attorney. The 42-year-old was therefore awarded sole custody rights.