Authorities in Pennsylvania this week announced that fentanyl poisoning claimed the life of a 7-month-old baby, continuing a troubling increase in synthetic opioid deaths among children.
Police officers and paramedics were called to a home in Penn Hills — a Pittsburgh suburb — around 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 14, where they found Zhuri Bogle unresponsive, according to a press release from Allegheny County police.
When first responders arrived, the infant’s father, according to officials, was performing CPR. The girl was pronounced dead shortly after.
Investigators learned that the baby had been in the care of her grandmother and grandmother’s friend since the previous evening, according to the release.
“Zhuri was already put to bed when her parents arrived home on the evening of January 13th,” authorities said.
About two months later, an autopsy performed by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner determined the infant died of “acute fentanyl toxicity,” according to the release.
Allegheny County police said the department is working with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on possible charges. Officials have not mentioned who they might prosecute in the case.
Following the infant’s death, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help support her parents, Mercedes Williams and Barrington Bogle Jr.
“This was a wholly unexpected and devastating occurrence that forever changed the lives of Zhuri’s parents and other loved ones,” the page states.
“To bury a loved one is not an easy task; it is a strain mentally, emotionally, and financially,” the fundraiser continued.
Zhuri’s funeral service was held on Feb. 7 at Coston Funeral Homes in Pittsburgh, according to her obituary. One of the tributes posted on the page described the girl as “beautiful, vivacious and vibrant.”
Just two days before baby’s death, an analysis by Families Against Fentanyl, a non-profit organization, found that fentanyl deaths among children 14 and under are increasing at a faster rate than those of any other age group in the U.S., as first reported by the New York Post.
According to the FAF press release, researchers pulled data from the Center for Disease Control on synthetic opioid (fentanyl) poisoning fatalities.
The findings revealed that national fentanyl deaths doubled in the two years from 2019 to 2021.
“However, in the same period, deaths among infants to 1 year olds quadrupled, deaths among 1 to 4 year olds more than tripled, and deaths among 5 to 14 year olds nearly quadrupled,” the release states.
On Tuesday, Mister Truth reported on the January death of 2-year-old Journey Sharp of Baltimore, Md., which was ruled a homicide caused by fentanyl intoxication.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Allegheny County police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477); callers can remain anonymous.