Glendale man arrested after girl in his care dies with fentanyl in her system

PHOENIX — A Glendale man was arrested Tuesday after a young girl died last year with fentanyl in her system while under his care.

Police said Christopher Daniel, 29, was watching his girlfriend’s three children, ages 4, 5 and 8, on Sept. 18 while their mother was at work.

First responders were called to the apartment they were in near 67th and Maryland avenues around 8:20 p.m. for a report of the 4-year-old not breathing.

“(Daniel) told police that around 7:30, 8 o’clock that evening, he was getting the children ready for bed and had told the kids to get off of the couch,” police spokeswoman Tiffany Ngalula told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.

“And when he did that, the 4-year-old remained on the couch and did not move. At that point he realized she was unresponsive and lethargic.”

The girl was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police said toxicology reports revealed a few weeks ago the girl and her 5-year-old brother both had fentanyl in their systems. Ngalula said further medical reports are pending.

Police said Daniel admitted to having smoked methamphetamine while caring for the kids and having used fentanyl in the past.

Ngalula said police do not know exactly how the children ingested the fentanyl, but they believe the drug was in the apartment.

“We don’t have any information that leads us to believe right now that he had actually physically given it to them, but he was responsible for the children however the fentanyl got into their systems,” she said.

Daniel was arrested for two counts of felony child abuse and booked into 4th Avenue Jail.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Kinnerup contributed to this report. 

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