LITTLE CANADA, Minn. — A Minnesota couple faces multiple charges for the death of a 17-month-old boy, who died from a lethal exposure to heroin and fentanyl.
Court documents show 31-year-old Andrea Intveld, the child's mother, is charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter. Joseph Compton, 28, is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
According to a criminal complaint, when Ramsey County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the couple's apartment in Little Canada on Sept. 4, 2022, Intveld said she believed the child had ingested drugs. She told officers that Compton, who left the apartment before officers arrived, had been watching her son.
The child was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner later determined that the child died of combined drug toxicity from heroin and fentanyl.
According to the complaint, Intveld changed her story about what happened several times while talking to investigators. Prosecutors allege that phone calls and text messages revealed Intveld had been lying about Compton's whereabouts and was helping him evade police
On Sept. 8, Compton and Intveld were located at a Maple Grove hotel, and after obtaining a search warrant officers discovered "large amounts of controlled substances of different types," the complaint said.
In an interview with investigators, Compton admitted that he and Intveld used heroin that was likely laced with fentanyl on the day the 17-month-old died, and that he placed the narcotics in a spot where the child was able to reach them, the complaint said.
Compton said Intveld fell passed out in the bathtub and he fell asleep on the living room floor and when he woke up, the child wasn't breathing, court documents said. According to investigators, Compton said he found a container that had heroin in it about four feet away from the 17-month-old.
The couple gave the child Narcan before Compton fled the apartment because he had a warrant for domestic assault, the complaint said.
Compton and Intveld made their first appearances in court on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Their next appearance for an omnibus hearing is slated for Dec. 22, 2022.
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