Mum weeps as she is jailed after son overdosed on her antidepressants | US News

A mum whose one-year-old son died after he overdosed on antidepressant pills sobbed and shared her regrets as she was sent to jail. 

Hope Marshall, 27, will serve at least 18 months in prison after her 17-month-old son Kaiden Wood, died inside their family home in Kentwood, Michigan.

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 for the boy’s death.

In court on Wednesday, Marshall said she ‘failed’ her son and his brothers. 

She said: ‘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?’

‘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.

According to reports, when investigators searched the home they found it to be in general disarray. 

The detectives also found items 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 Wellbutrin was hers and allegedly told offciers ‘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.

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, the mum told the judge that she hopes to use her time in prison to turn her life around after this tragic mistake. 

Marshall said: ‘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,’ ‘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. 

Like Marshall, Kaiden’s father made similar comments while addressing a court earlier this year as he was charged for his one-year-old son’s death. 

‘I understand that I made a mistake that day,’ said Wood in March. 

‘And I acknowledge that I must stop. And unfortunately, I lost one of my sons while doing it,’ the father said. 

‘I just want to say, not even to the court, but to my son, that I’m sorry,’ said Kyle.

He was given a minimum sentence of 30 months and a maximum of 10 years. 

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