A woman is accused of allowing her 2-year-old daughter to die from an apparent drug overdose last week at a Northeast Albuquerque home — where several people were reportedly smoking crack and fentanyl.
Kreshenna Delaney, 46, is charged with one count of child abuse in the May 19 death of Nayisha Delaney. She is also facing two counts of child abuse for having her other young children in the home.
Delaney was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Friday. It is unclear if she has an attorney.
Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Delaney until trial, saying her daughter “died from consuming fentanyl” after she exposed the children to drugs.
Court records show Delaney has a history of drug-related offenses dating back to 2001 and served several years in prison for trafficking.
In 2014, her sister was granted guardianship of an older son while, according to court records, Delaney was battling an addiction and failed to meet the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department’s requirements to “change her environment” and get the boy back.
Court records show Delaney had three children since then and her 6- and 8-year-old sons were taken into CYFD custody after their sister’s death.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office responded on Tuesday to a child experiencing “a fentanyl overdose” at the hospital, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Deputies traced the incident to a home in the 3700 block of Arno NE, near Edith and Candelaria, where several people told deputies they smoked crack cocaine.
Deputies said Delaney told them she went to get the children ready for school and found her daughter unconscious and brought her to the hospital. Delaney, who kept nodding out in front of deputies, said her daughter may have ingested “some type of drug.”
Deputies told Delaney they found cocaine in the girl’s system and she asked “how much” — telling them everyone at the “trap house” does drugs, according to the complaint. Delaney said she sells crack but didn’t give any to her daughter, suggesting someone else may have dropped drugs the girl got into.
Deputies said they searched the home and found paraphernalia for smoking crack and what appeared to be cocaine. During the search Delaney was being “extremely inappropriate” and making sexual comments toward a detective.
Hospital surveillance showed Delaney was slow to park her vehicle and stayed in the car for a few minutes before walking in, holding her unconscious daughter, with “absolutely no sense of urgency,” according to the complaint.
Deputies said they found paraphernalia used to smoke crack in Delaney’s vehicle and a drug test came up positive for cocaine in her system.
Her daughter was pronounced dead early Friday morning.
Court records show Delaney’s other two sons, ages 6 and 8, are now in the custody of CYFD since their sister’s death. Delaney’s sister — who still has custody of Delaney’s older son — filed for emergency guardianship of the boys, wanting the three brothers “raised together.”
The aunt wrote in the petition that she initially cared for the other two boys as well until CYFD allowed the younger pair back with Delaney at some point.
