Woman charged after toddler dies from drug toxicity in Niagara Falls, police say

A 40-year-old woman is facing charges in the death of a toddler who was found without vital signs in a Niagara Falls home last year.

Niagara regional police say officers found the two-year-old child after they were called to a home on Nov. 21, 2023.

They say an autopsy later determined the child died as a result of fentanyl and bromazolam toxicity.

Police say the suspect was arrested Monday and charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life as well as drug offences.

She is being held for a video bail hearing today.

Investigators say they are not publicly identifying the suspect to protect the identity of the child and next of kin.

Police say bromazolam is a drug in the benzodiazepine family that in not prescribed to people in Canada. It has been found mixed in with the region's illegal fentanyl supply, they say.