Sarasota woman sentenced to 10 years for Fentanyl overdose death of 8-month-old child
Almost a year after a Sarasota couple was arrested for the Fentanyl overdose death of their 8-month-old daughter, the mother has taken a plea deal and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to court documents.
Carissa Alexander, 30, was charged in June with homicide aggravated manslaughter of a child and possession or use of narcotic equipment after Sarasota County Sheriff's deputies were called to her home regarding the death of the infant.
Court records show that a Sarasota judge on March 21 ordered a jury trial for October, but 12 days later, court records were entered stating Carissa Alexander had agreed to a plea bargain.
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The maximum sentence she could have received was 31 years, according to court documents. Carissa Alexnader received credit for time served in jail, a total of 287 days, for the second count of possession of narcotic equipment.
Carissa Alexander's husband, Nicholas, was also charged with homicide aggravated manslaughter of a child, as well as possession of narcotics and possession or use of narcotic equipment, according to court records. As of Monday, his trial is scheduled for October.
Deputies responded to a residence near Interstate 75 and Bee Ridge Road in the late afternoon on May 31 regarding the death of an infant, according to previous reporting. The child had been found unresponsive on a couch and was taken to HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital by Nicholas Alexander and a friend.
During the investigation, deputies believed the baby was in the care of Carissa Alexander when she was found face-down on couch cushions and had not been checked on for more than six hours.
An autopsy revealed the 8-month-old had lethal amounts of Fentanyl and had been dead for several hours, according to the news release.
As deputies were interviewing the couple following the incident, both showed signs of impairment including slurred speech, difficulty focusing, and trouble staying awake, the affidavit by police alleged. The affidavit states that Nicholas Alexander told investigators he had done a "shot" of cocaine around 1 a.m. and then smoked cocaine about nine hours later. He claimed Carissa Alexander also took cocaine around the same time; police allege in the affidavit.
Court documents in Nicholas Alexander's case include a SCSO investigative report which provides more details into what law enforcement alleged happened on May 31, as well as details into what witnesses told police in the following weeks.
One witness recalled seeing Nicholas Alexander place the infant in a playpen where the child usually slept sometime around midnight the night before. The witness added he didn't see or interact with the infant the following morning before he and Nicholas Alexnader left the house around 1:30 p.m. on May 31.
Another witness said he and Nicholas Alexander both arrived at the residence around 4 p.m. and he noticed the infant lying on her stomach on a couch cushion. When he went to place a blanket over the baby, he picked the child up and she was "ice cold," according to the investigation report.
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Another witness, who acted as a caregiver for the Alexanders' children since September 2021, spoke with detectives on June 8, detectives said in the investigation documents.
The caregiver described Clarissa Alexander as "a young mom trying to take care of a big house, three dogs, and postpartum (depression)," according to the investigation report. She told detectives she wasn't confident in Carissa's ability to care for her children, especially since the addition of the third child appeared to be "too much" for the couple.
The caregiver told detectives she spent most nights at the house and stated that if she hadn't become sick with COVID, the infant might still be alive.
She also told detectives she believed that there was drug use occurring within the home but never saw it, she only observed that Nicholas Alexander "was often sweating and would fall asleep in the middle of conversations," the investigation notes state. She also claimed a dog had overdosed at the house days prior after getting into "something," but was taken to the vet and recovered.
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on X: @GabrielaSzyman3.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota woman sentenced to prison for overdose death of 8-month-old
