A Michigan mother whose toddler son died after he overdosed on antidepressant pills sobbed and shared her regrets as she was sentenced to jail on Wednesday.
Hope Marshall, 27, will serve at least 18 months in prison for the June 2022 death of 17-month-old Kaiden Wood, who died inside their Kentwood home.
‘I’m a mother full of guilt, shame, regrets and pain. A mother’s worst nightmare is losing a child but what do you do when your own actions are responsible?’ she said.
When police first arrived at the home for the call of an unresponsive toddler, they found items including a soup pot filled with vomit, a marijuana pipe, and Xanax.
Kaiden’s father, Kyle Wood, pleaded guilty to second-degree child abuse in March and was sentenced to at least 30 months and a maximum of 10 years for the boy’s death.
In court Wednesday, Marshall said she ‘failed’ her son and his brothers. ‘Kaiden is my world and I failed him so badly. I let my drug addiction destroy my precious son’s life and my two other sons’ life as well,’ the woman said.
According to early reports, when investigators searched the home in the 400 block of Prince Albert St. SE, they found the residence to be in general disarray.
The detectives also found numerous items that caused concerns including three loose Wellbutrin pills in the living room and Xanax on the kitchen counter. Both medications are commonly used as antidepressants.
At the time, Marshall told police the the Wellbutrin was hers and allegedly told police ‘she takes three (Wellbutrin) with her coffee each morning.’
A broken Acetaminophen pill was on the floor in the hallway, 13 ABC reported, as well as a vape pen inside Kaiden’s crib.
Marshall told police that she had last seen Kaiden alive around 8am on June 23 after feeding him some Cheerios and then putting him back in his crib.
Two hours later, she found him in his bed ‘cold and blue.’ She moved him out to the living room floor where first responders ultimately found him on arrival.
A report from the Kent County Medical Examiner’s Office indicated that paramedics attempted resuscitation but could not because his jaw was already too rigid.
‘He was in full rigor mortis at the time of arrival of EMS. He was pronounced deceased at 10:25 a.m. on 6/23/22,’ an investigator with the ME’s office wrote.
When police later returned to the scene in August 2022, they discovered uncapped needles stuck into a mattress and another vape pen in a coffee table drawer.
In court Wednesday, the mother told the judge that she hopes to use her time in prison and after to turn her life around after this tragic mistake.
‘I hope you can see how badly I want to change my life and how sorry I am for my actions and how much I’ve reflected on them,’ Marshall said.
‘I just want help and the fact that I had to lose my son to realize that is sad,’ Marshall told Judge Paul Denenfeld.
As part of a plea-agreement, Marshall pleaded guilty to second-degree child abuse and a charge of involuntary manslaughter was dropped.
While sentencing the mother, Denenfield said that he has seen three cases of children overdosing on pills and drugs that parents left around.
‘Parents want to sit around and use drugs, whether it’s legal or illegal, I guess that’s a choice on their own,’ the judge exclaimed.
‘Children don’t make a choice of being tempted by things that children would normally reach out and try to ingest,’ Denenfeld said, prior to sentencing Marshall.
