Louisiana mother accused of killing 4-day-old daughter with fentanyl-laced breastmilk

A Louisiana mother is accused of killing her 4-day-old daughter by breastfeeding the newborn after taking fentanyl.

Lana Cristina, 28, of Kenner, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of her 4-day-old child after toxicology reports showed acute fentanyl toxicity was the cause of death, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's office.

Jefferson Parish deputies were dispatched to a medical incident at a hotel in Harvey, a small town south of New Orleans on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, when Cristina called 911 to report her infant daughter was not breathing at about 3:40 a.m. June 10.

The child was pronounced dead at a local hospital that morning, according to a statement from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Cristina reportedly admitted to police she used opioids before breastfeeding the infant.

A warrant was obtained for Cristina’s arrest following the autopsy. She was booked at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, where she was ordered held without bail on Aug. 5.

It is the second time Cristina was arrested in connection to a drug-related death. Cristina pleaded guilty to negligent homicide after her friend, Amber Hollis, 23, overdosed in 2013.

She was sentenced to five years in prison for supplying the heroin that killed Hollis, according to NOLA.com.

“Lana Marie Cristina, 20, at first told police that she did not know where Hollis got the heroin but later admitted she bought the drug and gave it to Hollis,” Kenner Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian McGregor said in a statement on Oct. 27, 2013.

Under Louisiana law, a person who “unlawfully distributes or dispenses a controlled dangerous substance ... which is the direct cause of the death of the recipient who ingested or consumed the controlled dangerous substance” can face second-degree murder charges.