A grandmother was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter and child abuse for allowing her 9-month-old grandson to ingest a fatal dose of heroin.
Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced Friday that 44-year-old Laurie Taylor of Curtis Bay received the sentence as part of a plea bargain.
Taylor's grandson, Niyear Taylor, was found unresponsive in July 2019. Prosecutors say Taylor and her 17-year-old daughter, Niyear's mother, had gone into Baltimore to buy four capsules of heroin. They later noticed that a capsule was missing and wondered if Niyear had swallowed it because he was wheezing. But they opted against getting him help and instead went to sleep.
The Capital reports that charges against the 17-year-old mother were waived in August.
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“The death of this innocent baby due to the reckless behavior of his family members is beyond unconscionable,” Leitess said in a statement.
