Mother dies and father unresponsive from heroin overdose in 7 year old daughter’s hospital bathroom
CINCINNATI — Police arrived at an Ohio hospital Thursday to find a mother dead and a father unresponsive from a heroin overdose on the floor of their 7-month-old child’s hospital room bathroom.
The parents had traveled from Alabama to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to seek treatment for their child.
The mother, identified Friday by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office as Mary Landers, 31, of Trinity, Ala., was found dead from an apparent overdose at the hospital, police said.
Wesley Landers, also of Trinity, was found with a heroin syringe in his arm, needles strewn on the bathroom sink and a loaded and chambered handgun in his pants pocket, according to court documents.
He was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment and was arrested on charges of possession of drugs, carrying a concealed weapon, having weapons while under disability and possessing drug abuse instruments.
During his arraignment in Hamilton County (Ohio) court Friday, Wesley Landers’ stance and posture were unchanged for most of it until his wife was mentioned.
At that moment, Landers dropped his head, closed his eyes and leaned against the lectern in front of him.
“If the heroin epidemic has exhibited itself in a more tragic form, I haven’t seen it,” said Judge Curt Kissinger during Landers’ arraignment.
Bond was set at $500,000 with the judge saying he weighed heavily that Landers is now a single father. The amount could be revisited in coming days, Kissinger said.
Officials at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center would not release further information on the incident and referred further questions to police.
Facebook and GoFundMe pages linked to the Landers show they were in Cincinnati seeking medical treatment for their 7-month-old daughter. Posts state the family was seeking assistance with covering out-of-pocket expenses for surgery the baby was undergoing Wednesday.
Trinity is about 33 miles west of Huntsville, Ala. The family traveled about 400 miles to Cincinnati for treatment.