Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a Lumberton woman whose young son died earlier this year after she became impaired and passed out on top of him was sentenced today to four years in New Jersey state prison.
The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Philip E. Haines, J.S.C., to Antoinette King, 34, of Dove Court. King pled guilty in July to Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Second Degree). She admitted in Superior Court to drinking alcohol and taking Percocet pills and subsequently collapsing on her son, suffocating him.
King was unaware that the pills she purchased had been laced with carfentanil, a synthetic opioid that, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, can be 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
Authorities were called to King’s home on January 19 on a report of an unconscious adult female and an unconscious infant male. The investigation revealed that a relative inside the home discovered King lying on the toddler and called for help after finding them both to be unresponsive.
King was successfully administered Narcan, but her son, 13-month-old Jerimiah, could not be revived. Both subjects were transported to Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, where Jerimiah was pronounced dead.
An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Jerimiah died as a result of compression asphyxia.
King was prosecuted by BCPO Assistant Prosecutor Bob Van Gilst, supervisor of the Major Crimes Unit – Violent Crimes Section, and Assistant Prosecutor Saurabh Singal. The investigation was conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lumberton Township Police Department. The lead investigators were BCPO Detective Tony Luyber and LTPD Detective Kevin Wright.