Maine Woman Arrested in Death of 1-Year-Old Daughter After Allegedly Rubbing Heroin Residue on Her Gums

A Maine woman has been arrested in the death of her toddler daughter after allegedly rubbing drug residue on her gums, causing her to overdose, authorities said.

Little Jordynn was pronounced dead in October 2018 after being found unresponsive in her mother’s Bangor home. The Maine medical examiner determined the child died of acute intoxication after ingesting fentanyl, a powerful and synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, officials said.

Police said the little girl’s father told them his daughter’s mother, 33-year-old Kimberly Nelligan, applied what they believed was heroin residue on her gums before she died, the Bangor Daily News reported.

The man allegedly witnessed Nelligan apply the residue to their child’s gums more than a dozen times when she had trouble falling asleep, officials said. Police said he claimed she told him she had done the same thing to their two older children when they were little, the Daily News wrote.

Jordynn's father has not been charged. 

“You know I didn’t hurt our daughter on purpose,” Nelligan allegedly said to Jordynn’s father, a police affidavit obtained by the Daily News said. 

Nelligan was arrested Tuesday and charged with child endangerment and drug possession. She pleaded not guilty during a court appearance Wednesday and is due back in court Nov. 12.

She has been released from jail on bail. The conditions of her release include no contact with the father of her daughter, no unsupervised contact with children under 18, no consumption of alcohol and no consumption of illegal drugs. 

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