Cape woman jailed after child dies of fentanyl overdose

A Cape Girardeau woman was arrested earlier this month after it was discovered a girl in her care died after ingesting a lethal amount of the drug fentanyl.

Stephanie K. Durbin, 35, was taken into custody Dec. 11 by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of first-degree abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death.

According to a probable-cause statement, Cape Girardeau Police Department officers responded to Durbin’s residence at 6:04 p.m. May 17 on a report of an unresponsive child. The girl was transported to Southeast Hospital and pronounced dead. Dr. Russell Deidiker of Mineral Area Pathology performed the autopsy determining the cause of death was “acute fentanyl intoxication,” which resulted in the girl’s death to be classified as a homicide.

The girl had been in Durbin’s care since roughly 11:30 p.m. May 16, according to the probable-cause statement. The only other person at Durbin’s residence at the time of the child’s death was an unidentified male who, according to the probable-cause statement, told investigators Durbin was a frequent user of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid pain reliever 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The probable-cause statement does not disclose the girl’s age or her relationship to Durbin or the unidentified male.

Durbin kept the drug in her bra or in a drawer in a nightstand next to her bed, according to the probable-cause statement. Since the girl was able to walk and move around without assistance, both Durbin’s bra and the nightstand drawer would have been accessible.

The male told police he saw Durbin use fentanyl the night the girl came into Durbin’s care, as well as the day the girl died, according to the statement. He said Durbin did not get out of bed on the day of the incident, and he checked on her and the girl periodically throughout the day. He told investigators he fell asleep on a couch in the residence that afternoon, and when he woke up at roughly 6 p.m., he checked on the girl who he said appeared to be asleep, but was unresponsive.

According to the probable-cause statement, Dr. Douglas Beal, medical consultant to the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team (STAT), said a “lethal dose would have started working in 2-3 minutes after exposure, and the child’s death would have rapidly ensued a few minutes later.”

First-degree abuse or neglect of a child is a class A felony punishable by 10 years to life in prison.

Durbin remains in custody at the Cape County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 7 before Judge Frank Miller at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson.