Washington mother charged after infant dies with fentanyl level 20 times lethal dose for an adult

A Longview, Washington, mother is facing a felony manslaughter charge after her 3-month-old son died with what investigators described as an extraordinary amount of fentanyl in his system, about 20 times the level considered potentially lethal for an adult.

According to The Daily News, Lashaia Shanmarie-Amy Avila, 33, was arrested at her home and booked on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter on Monday. At her first court appearance Tuesday, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Jill Karmy set bail at $150,000.

The child died on Dec. 23 after police and medics were called to a home behind the Fred Meyer on Olympia Way for a report of a baby not breathing. First responders found the infant dead. According to the police report, the baby’s skin was blue, his body was cold, and rigor mortis had already begun. An autopsy later found the infant had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system. Investigators said the fentanyl level was roughly 20 times what is considered potentially fatal for an adult. The child had also tested positive for both drugs at birth, but the forensic pathologist concluded the death was caused by a recent exposure, not residual exposure from birth.

Police said a sergeant spotted drug paraphernalia in the room where Avila had been sleeping. Investigators collected the baby’s bottle, formula, and three containers of powder found in the home. Testing showed the powder contained fentanyl and meth. The formula itself tested clean.

Avila told police she was addicted to fentanyl and suggested the baby may have been exposed through secondhand smoke or by contact after she used. She reportedly said she had used drugs about 24 hours before speaking with investigators and admitted she likely would have used again the day her son died if “the accident” had not happened.

In her statement, Avila said she woke around 5 am to the baby crying, asked her 11-year-old child to make a bottle, changed the infant, and then fed him while lying on her side. She said she fell asleep during the feeding. She woke again around 9:30 am to a call from her partner, who is in prison, and then realized the baby was motionless. She told officers the infant had been in the crook of her right arm while she patted him with her left hand and held the bottle with her chin before falling asleep.

The Longview case comes as Washington lawmakers continue to battle over the state’s child removal standard under the Keeping Families Together Act, a 2021 law that raised the legal threshold for taking children out of homes. Under the law, Child Protective Services generally must show “imminent physical harm” before removing a child. Critics say that the standard has made it harder for social workers, judges, and law enforcement to intervene in homes where fentanyl and other hard drugs are present until a child is already in crisis.

Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Travis Couture (R-Allyn), have spent multiple legislative sessions trying to repeal or roll back the law. Couture’s latest proposal, House Bill 1092, sought to clarify that active use of hard drugs like fentanyl in a home with children can meet the threshold for removal when it creates serious danger. Couture has argued that the law has had deadly consequences, pointing to data from the Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds showing 92 child deaths or near-deaths tied to the child welfare system in the first six months of 2025 alone, putting the state on pace for its deadliest year on record.

This session, Couture made a last-ditch procedural attempt to force three child welfare bills out of committee, including his own, but the effort failed on a party-line vote. In a post on X, Couture said he was “devastated” and warned that “the sickening abuse, neglect, malnourishment, and death of kids will continue.”

Couture called the Avila baby, "Another victim of the Keeping Families Together Act."