Milwaukee woman sentenced in death of 15-month-old who consumed fentanyl from sippy cup

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee woman was sentenced Friday, March 24, in the 2021 death of her 15-month-old child.

Tateyani Harris, 26, pleaded guilty in January 2023 and was convicted of neglecting a child (consequence is death). Court records show a charge of first-degree reckless homicide was dismissed. 

Harris was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three-and-a-half years of extended supervision. 

A criminal complaint says first responders found her child unresponsive at a home near Buffum and Wright in July of 2021. He was later pronounced deceased. 

When questioned by investigators, Harris told them she had taken the child out with a friend during the day, and afterwards, Harris admitted to going back to her friend's house and snorting cocaine. 

The complaint says once she returned home, Harris informed other members of the household that she was going back out and leaving the child asleep in his car seat. She returned home about three hours later to find the child sleeping in the same location. 

Harris told detectives she changed the child's diaper and then went to bed while the child stayed up and played. Around 8:30 a.m., Harris brought the child to bed and they both fell asleep. She said she woke up at 1:30 p.m. and found the child unresponsive and cold to the touch. 

Detectives on scene located two sippy cups in the bedroom -- one which Harris identified as the last cup the child had used. 

A report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said the contents of the sippy cups tested positive for fentanyl and confirmed the presence of both fentanyl and Benadryl in the child's blood. The cause of death was determined to be mixed drug toxicity. 

In an interview with investigators, Harris admitted to preparing the sippy cups for the child and claimed she did not know how fentanyl got inside. 

Blood samples taken from Harris on the date of the child's death confirm Harris ingested the same substances present in the child's cup.