North Carolina – A North Carolina woman was taken into custody and charged with feIony chiId abuse and exposing a chiId to a controIIed substance in connection with the death of her 1-year-old baby, police said. The parent, 26-year-old B. Parkas, was being held under a $1 million bond following the charges filed by the North Carolina authorities after her daughter was found unresponsive inside a moteI room late last month. North Carolina authorities said the investigation into the child’s death is ongoing as detectives continue to gather evidence and interview possible witnesses.

Officers were called to the moteI at about 1:20 a.m. last week after receiving a report of a child who was not breathing. When they entered the room, they found the baby, later identified as 1-year-old KameIah, unresponsive. Emergency medical personnel transported her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

The early stages of the investigation focused on determining how and why the child died. Officers secured the scene at the moteI and began documenting physical evidence and interviewing the parent and any other adults present during their initial response. Detectives from the Child Fatality Unit and homicide division took over the probe to piece together what led to the girl’s tragic death.

Police alleged in an arrest warrant that the parent exposed her chiId to iIIicit drugs, including crack cocaine and fentanyI, and that exposure contributed to the child’s death. Law enforcement officials said that drug paraphernalia was recovered from the moteI room during the investigation, and toxicology reports were ordered to help determine exactly how the substances may have affected the child.

When questioned by detectives, she initially gave accounts that did not fully explain why her chils was found in such a critical condition. According to an affidavit reviewed by local media, she claimed that another person — described as an acquaintance — had come into the room and used controIIed substances near the child. She also told officers that she believed the drugs that were on the bed may have been ingested by the child and that she later attempted to wake the 1-year-old, only to find her unresponsive. She then ran to the moteI lobby to look for Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, and expressed concern that illegal drugs in the room might have affected her child.

Throughout the early part of the investigation, police continued to search the motel room and process any physical evidence that could shed light on the circumstances surrounding the girl’s death. Investigators noted that multiple items of drug paraphernalia were found in the room and that the child’s body appeared to have traces of an unknown white powdery substance on her chest and left arm, according to the arrest affidavit. According to the North Carolina authorities, the parent was living at the moteI with her 1-year-old baby at the time, but authorities maintain she was reckIess in her parenting and allowed the child’s death to occur.

Toxicology results and forensic tests were expected to provide additional detail on the presence of cocaine, fentanyI or other narcotics in the child’s system, but preliminary findings from law enforcement indicated that exposure to these drugs likely played a role in her fatal condition. Police say it is still unclear exactly how the child came into contact with the controIIed substances in the room.

The charges of child abuse and exposing a child to a controlled substance both carry significant penalties under North Carolina law. Prosecutors indicated that the mother’s actions demonstrated a reckless disregard for her daughter’s safety and well-being, given the known dangers of exposing a young child to powerful narcotics.