Mom arrested one year after baby dies from fentanyl overdose in Phoenix

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A woman was arrested a year after her baby died from a fentanyl overdose at a west Phoenix apartment complex.

Lynandra Walton, 38, faces charges including first-degree murder, child abuse/neglect, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Around 12:30 p.m. on June 15, 2023, police and firefighters responded to an apartment complex on 55th Avenue, just north of Indian School Road, after someone called to report a child was unresponsive and turning blue.

When officers entered a room, Walton was reportedly performing chest compressions on a baby boy. The 15-month-old was taken to the hospital and died a short time later.

According to court documents, officers saw several light blue pills stamped M30, believed to be fentanyl, scattered around the room. They also saw pieces of aluminum foil with burnt residue in the room and in a bathroom, consistent with fentanyl use.

Police then spoke to Walton, who allegedly told officers that her son was acting normally when she woke up at 6 a.m. and went back to sleep. The next time she woke up, she said she couldn't get him to react and called for help.

She reportedly said he was a healthy child, but was “always getting involved and touching things.”

Detectives then served a search warrant on the apartment. In the bedroom, officers collected numerous pills stamped M30 from the bed where Walton and her son were sleeping and from the floor around the bed.

Investigators also recovered several drug paraphernalia, including glass pipes.

Police also spoke with the man who lived in the apartment, who told them Walton and her child had been staying there on and off for about a week. He also said he saw the boy moving around earlier in the morning, hours before Walton ran out of the bedroom and told him to call 911.

Walton was questioned again at the police station. According to the documents, she told officers that she and her son had only stayed in the apartment for one night. She also said the drugs and paraphernalia found in the bedroom were not hers.

Police contacted the Arizona Department of Child Safety and learned Walton had previously reported multiple instances of illegal drug use, including cocaine, methadone and opiates. DCS added that she lost custody of four of her other children.

The agency also noted that four of his children, including the one who died, were addicted to drugs at birth.

An autopsy later determined that her son died of fentanyl intoxication and that there were no other contributing causes.

A blood test showed Walton had fentanyl and other substances in his system the day his son died. Tests also showed that pills collected from the apartment were fentanyl.

On Thursday, officers arrested Walton as she left her Phoenix apartment. Documents say her purse was searched and officers found drugs, including fentanyl and paraphernalia.

In an interview after her arrest, Walton allegedly admitted to using fentanyl days before her son's death. She also said she had used Xanax and marijuana and didn't remember much about the week her son died, according to the documents.

Records show Walton also had been arrested and convicted of possession of drugs and paraphernalia, driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest, aggravated assault on police officers and other charges.

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