A St. Paul woman has pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the fentanyl overdose death of her 1-year-old daughter.
Tessa Jean Vorlicky, 21, entered the plea Thursday in Ramsey County District Court after reaching an agreement with the prosecution. The plea deal calls for Vorlicky to receive a four-year prison term at sentencing, which is scheduled for March 31.
Mi'Vida Vorlicky ingested the drug on Dec. 1, 2023, and died four days later at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, according to the charges.
The child's father, 27-year-old Derrick Marshawn Harrison, was charged with child endangerment. He failed to appear at a hearing last week, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
St. Paul police were sent to a home in the 300 block of Toronto Street in the city's West Seventh area around 7:30 p.m. on a report of a 1-year-old who was not breathing and occasionally gasping, according to the charges, which were filed in May. Medics were on scene when officers arrived.
Vorlicky's mother, who had called 911, told police at the scene that her daughter, Mi'Vida and Harrison stay in an upstairs bedroom. She said she frequently finds drug residue, straws and burnt tin foil around the house, the charges say.
Mi'Vida was transported to Children's Hospital in St. Paul. She was given Narcan, but did not regain consciousness. She was later transported to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, where doctors believed she was unlikely to survive.
In the bedroom, police found a baggie of methamphetamine, burnt tin foil on top of a dresser and nasal Narcan, the charges say. A bag with tin foil and suspected drugs were in a storage tote in the closet.
Vorlicky told police she smoked fentanyl the morning of Dec. 1 in a hallway with tin foil, which she then threw away.
Harrison told police he doesn't stay at the home, but goes over there three or four days a week to check on Mi'Vida, who had begun to crawl. He accepted responsibility for not being there for her and getting her into a better situation, the charges say.
Mi'Vida was declared brain dead on Dec. 5, and an autopsy concluded the baby died of acute fentanyl toxicity and revealed she had a fragment of tin foil in her colon.