Minnesota Woman Admits to Manslaughter For Infant’s Drug Death

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota woman is now awaiting sentencing for a conviction stemming from the death of her infant daughter a little over a year ago
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Ramsey County court documents say 21-year-old Tessa Jean Vorlicky was arrested on December 1, 2023, after St. Paul police responded to a 911 call about a one-year-old child who had stopped breathing. According to the criminal complaint in the case, a voice in the background of the 911 call could be heard saying "where is the Narcan."

When officers arrived at the scene, the charges say they found paramedics working on the infant girl, who appeared to have ingested something. The court document says the mother had fled the scene on foot but was detained a short time later.

The baby was taken to a St. Paul hospital where she was pronounced dead two days later.

The criminal complaint says investigators executed search warrants at the home and found multiple pieces of burnt tinfoil on the floor. Numerous items of drug paraphernalia, narcotic residue, a small amount of suspected methamphetamine, and a baggie of suspected drugs. The investigation also led to the discovery of documents that indicated Vorlicky had allegedly used fentanyl while she was in labor at the hospital in September 2022.

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An autopsy ruled the child died of acute fentanyl toxicity. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office tested and found fentanyl in the child's system as well as a piece of folded-up tinfoil in her digestive tract.

Vorlicky was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter. On Thursday, she entered a guilty plea to one of the charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in March.