CT grandmother charged with manslaughter in overdose death of 4-week-old in 2021

A grandmother with a history of substance abuse has been charged with manslaughter after a baby in her care died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021, police said.

Eleanor Herman, 61, was arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child, according to the Bridgeport Police Department.

Herman’s arrest comes after Bridgeport police were dispatched to the 100 block of Bronx Avenue on Feb. 21, 2021, around 4:30 p.m. on the report of an infant who was not breathing, police said. The baby girl was taken by an uncle to an area hospital before police arrived.

Medical staff at the hospital pronounced the 4-week-old child dead shortly after 4:30 p.m.

According to police, an autopsy done by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that the baby died of acute intoxication from the combined effects of fentanyl and para-fluoro fentanyl. Police said the death was ruled a homicide, as the child had ingested the drugs.

Police noted that Herman has a history of heroin abuse.

A subsequent investigation by Bridgeport detectives found that the baby was with Herman in the three hours leading up to her death, police said. Herman, the baby’s maternal grandmother, was residing with the child at the time of her death, according to police.

Detectives last Thursday obtained a warrant for Herman before her arrest.

Herman was being held in lieu of a $250,000 bond and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Bridgeport Superior Court.