Two West Palm Beach, Florida parents were arrested on Friday, Sept. 21 after their 11-month-old baby overdosed on heroin earlier this summer.
Hospital staff gave the child two doses of Narcan to “revive the child back to life.”
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Charlie Hagan, 38, said that she and Joseph Critelli, 49, noticed their child “acting fussy.” When the child made a rasping noise after Critelli tried to put her down to sleep, he called 911 and performed CPR on her. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue rushed her to the St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Sheriff’s office officials said that Hagan and Cirtelli’s home was covered “from ground to ceiling with a multitude of items,” adding that someone who lived there was a hoarder.
Hospital records confirmed that the baby had “somehow ingested” an opiate, possibly heroin.
Just days before the July 2 incident, the baby’s grandmother had filed for (and was denied) emergency custody of the baby after Hagan overdosed from heroin and nearly died.
“The mother of (the) child is addicted to drugs,” she wrote in her June 28 petition for an emergency custody hearing. “Father has health issues and no suitable home for child.”
She also wrote that the baby had lived with her in suburban West Palm Beach since she was born. She petitioned the court schedule an emergency hearing to approve her having temporary custody of the child “for the foreseeable future until parents have treatment and can provide stable environment and home for child.”
“(The) parents are not fit at this time to care for the child,” she wrote, but the court ruled that her request didn’t warrant an emergency hearing.
Deputies on the scene said Critelli looked to be under the influence of a narcotic. He is a licensed pharmacist, although not currently working in the state of Florida. He said he was taking medication for an unspecified illness.
Hagan previously spent more than two years in state custody on burglary and drug related charges, and was released from prison in January of 2015.
The baby is now in the care of her grandmother, despite the fact that both Hagan and Critelli were released from jail on $3,000 bond.
Photo Credit: Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
