A California couple faces murder charges in the fentanyl poisoning death of their infant daughter, whose body was found long dead on a bed and covered by a rug in their drug-littered home.
Derek Rayo, 27, and Kelly Richardson, 28, have been charged in the death of 18-month-old Winter Rayo.
Outside court on Monday, prosecutors castigated the alleged drug-using mother.
“It’s evidence of her continued use and her disregard of the danger that she poses to other people,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Monroe Tyler told reporters, the San Jose Mercury News reported. “It supports our case in that she’s continuing to use despite these dangerous consequences.”
Richardson’s mother, Amy Richardson, the baby’s grandmother, briefly spoke to reporters outside the courtroom on Monday.
Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson face murder charges in the fentanyl poisoning death of their infant daughter. (Courtroom screenshot from San Francisco’s KRON-TV/YouTube; mug shots from San Jose Police Department)
“We’re devastated right now,” she said, the Mercury News reported.
Police made the disturbing discovery just before midnight on Aug. 12. San Jose police responded to the home after Rayo called 911, saying his daughter was not conscious and not breathing on his bed, according to a prosecutor statement of facts obtained by Law&Crime. Rayo said he did not know what had happened and that he and Richardson, his girlfriend, were alone in the home.
San Jose Fire and EMS arrived at the home before police and found Winter lying on a bed in the master bedroom covered with a rug. The baby was declared dead, showing “full rigor mortis, lividity, fixed/dilated pupils, and blue lips,” the statement of facts said. She had been dead for about 12 hours, the document said.
A blood toxicology report showed she had a fentanyl blood concentration of 74 ng/ml — the medical examiner reported that 3 ng/ml of fentanyl blood concentration is lethal.
The couple and the victim had gone to bed at about 2 a.m. At about 1 p.m., Kelly Richardson said she woke up to see Derek Rayo on the victim’s legs. She woke him up and told him to get off the victim, the document said.
Derek Rayo woke up and saw that the victim was not conscious or breathing. His daughter’s lips were blue, she was limp, and he believed she had died, authorities said.
The couple admitted to not calling 911 for about 10 hours. They were “in denial and wanted to grieve together before police arrived to separate them,” the document said.
Blood samples taken from the parents the day the baby was found dead showed both were positive for “fentanyl, norfentanyl (metabolite of fentanyl), amphetamine, and methamphetamine.”
During a search of the home, investigators found a white chunky powder on the nightstand of the master bedroom, a scraping tool with residue on a desk, and another scraping tool with residue on a rug under the baby’s body. The white powder and both scraping tools were later tested positive for fentanyl, authorities said. Investigators found additional drug paraphernalia in the master bedroom and garage.
Detectives said they found text messages, social media messages, photos, and videos showing the couple “recklessly smoking narcotics” while holding their baby and in the presence of the infant.
“Photographs also showed that Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson endangered the victim by regularly and knowingly keeping illegal and dangerous narcotics and drug paraphernalia in the residence, within reach and accessible to the victim,” the statement of facts said. “Messages also were located showing evidence of both Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson regularly being under the influence of narcotics while caring for the victim.”
They also texted their roommate, a purported drug dealer, asking him to deliver and leave narcotics in open and unsecured spots in the house, the document said.
“On several occasions, Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson communicated via text messages their concern about leaving dangerous narcotics within reach of 18-month-old Victim W. Doe. Narcan dispensers, which are used to help reverse an opioid overdose, were located in the residence and one of the vehicles used to transport Victim W. Doe,” the document said.
At the time of his arrest, Rayo, who admitted to being a heavy narcotics user in the past, including methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, had already been in custody for an unrelated warrant, authorities said. He was served with a homicide warrant on Nov. 21. Richardson was arrested the next day.
Both defendants are expected to enter pleas at a hearing on Jan. 3, online court records show. Their defense attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Law&Crime.
Prosecutors said this is the first case the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged parents for the murder of their child in a fentanyl-related death.
“As many of us gather with our families this week, please give a moment to think of W. Doe — this innocent child and her sad and stolen life,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “This is not a law enforcement official overreacting to an Illegal substance. Fentanyl will kill you as easily as a bullet. It is killing the children of our community.”
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