Boy Died After Mistaking Dad’s Meth For Breakfast Cereal: Police
A 8-year-old boy in Indiana who died after reportedly mistaking his dad’s methamphetamine for breakfast cereal had more than 180 times the lethal amount of the drug, according to a toxicology report released Thursday.
Curtis Collman III died June 21 after overdosing on meth at the home of his father, Curtis Gilbert Collman, 41, according to WAVE TV.
Reports said the boy ingested several grams of meth that were on a plate, thinking it was cereal.
Around 10 a.m., the elder Collman noticed his son seemed ill and called a friend who came over to look at the child, according to reports.
When the woman suggested calling 911, Collman Jr. allegedly ripped the phone out of her hand and said, “I’m not going back to prison.”
He then grabbed a handgun from another room and threatened to kill himself, the woman and his son, according to the Seymour Tribune.
Collman then took his son to his parents’ home, but fled when they too wanted to call 911, reports said.
Although the suspect’s parents called for help, the boy later died.
Police finally apprehended the elder Collman on Thursday evening and charged him with failure to register as a sex offender, which stemmed from a 2006 conviction on a Class D felony of sexual misconduct with a minor, the Tribune reported.
Collman has since been charged with neglect of a dependent causing death, pointing a firearm and theft.
On Friday, he requested a bond reduction so he could spend time at home with his parents while awaiting trial, but Jackson County law enforcement officials planned to fight to keep Collman behind bars. The judge was to decide by close of business Friday if the bond would be lowered.