(WHDH) — A 23-year-old mother who is facing a homicide charge put enough fentanyl to “kill two horses” in her infant daughter’s sippy cup so she could return to smoking marijuana in peace, prosecutors said Monday.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Jhenea Pratt, of East Hills, Pennsylvania, intentionally laced her 17-month-old daughter’s drink with the synthetic opioid in April 2018 to get rid of the child.
Assistant district attorney Diana Page told the court during closing arguments that Pratt killed her daughter because she wanted to “sit back, relax and smoke marijuana” because the infant “was getting in the way of her enjoying her pastime.”
The case is now in the hands of the jury.
Jurors are weighing whether to convict Pratt on a charge of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, or involuntary manslaughter.
Days after Pratt’s daughter died, officials say testing found fentanyl in the toddler’s blood and inside of the cup.
Pratt is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
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