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Rock Springs man arrested in toddler son’s overdose death

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) —A Rock Springs man was arrested this morning after his child died from an accidental drug overdose in October.

Daniel Scott James, 35, of Rock Springs, was arrested earlier today at his residence without incident. James is accused of involuntary manslaughter in his son’s death.

On the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 21, deputies responded to a home north of Rock Springs for a two-year-old boy who was unconscious, unresponsive and not breathing, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Jason Mower.

“When they arrived, they found the boy’s father administering CPR. The child’s body was stiff and cold to the touch; he was obviously deceased,” Mower said.

Through the course of investigation, detectives learned James was taking a number of prescribed and illicit medications, including Buprenorphine, commonly branded as Suboxone and prescribed to treat opioid withdrawal.

At the time of death, James said kept his medications in a pill organizer on the microwave.

The night before the boy died, James told investigators he noticed his Buprenorphine was missing from the pill organizer. The child’s mother also reported that her toddler son vomited several times before bed that night.

While no obvious signs of trauma were discovered during autopsy, toxicology results revealed Buprenorphine in the child’s system. While forensic experts would not specify the exact number of pills the boy may have ingested, they said less than one pill was enough to prove lethal.

In Wyoming, involuntary manslaughter is defined as unlawfully killing any human being without malice, involuntarily, but recklessly, and is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

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