2-year-old boy dies of methadone overdose while visiting dad; girlfriend charged with aggravated manslaughter (Jacksonville, Florida)

Honestly, what's the point of granting Daddy visitation--either "voluntarily" or through the courts--when he just hands the kid over to his new gal pal to take care of? And what a track record this woman has. Believe me, had this been Mom's boyfriend, all we'd be hearing is what a useless slut the mom was for "letting" this happen. But the fact that Daddy ERNEST WRIGHT dumped the child with the girlfriend as a free babysitter--apparently since the baby was just 3 months old--will get a pass. Just watch. And besides, 3-month-old infants don't need to be passed back and forth like stolen goods in so-called "shared" parenting situations. If Daddy couldn't even bother to stick with Mom for that long, the child doesn't even know the father. And there is ZERO evidence to show that children that age get any benefit from visitation. On the contrary, these "hot potato" babies are being set up for attachment disorders and other problems. Especially problems with indifferent or incompetent drug-addicted caregivers with criminal records like this one.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/25911388/detail.html

Mom Grieves Child's Overdose Death
Father's Girlfriend Charged With Aggravated Manslaughter

POSTED: Wednesday, November 24, 2010
UPDATED: 6:55 pm EST November 24, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Photos and memories are all Makisha Gaffney has left of her 2-year-old son, Mesia Wright.

More than a week after the toddler died of a methadone overdose, she is having trouble coping with Mesia's loss.

"It's so hard," Gaffney said. "I haven't been to work. I haven't been to school. I haven't eaten."

Police said the boy died after coming in contact with methadone in a child's plastic drinking cup left on a dresser in Mesia's father's home.

The father, Ernest Wright, said he came home from school Nov. 15 to find his son unconscious. He took the boy to a hospital, where the boy was pronounced dead on arrival.

The autopsy revealed Masia died from methadone toxicity and the medical examiner ruled the case a homicide.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Dana Michell Anderson

Wright's 30-year-old girlfriend, Dana Anderson, was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated manslaughter.

According to the arrest report, Anderson admitted to leaving a purple sippy cup with about 80 mg of methadone in it on the dresser in her bedroom.

The drug is often used to curb heroin or other opiate addictions, and experts told Channel 4 it is so powerful that t 5 mg of the liquid would have been enough to kill a small child.

Gaffney said she had primary custody of Masia but allowed her son to stay with his father while she was at work and school.

"It's one thing to put something in a cup, but to put it in a sippy cup -- it looks really attractive to a 2-year-old," Gaffney said. "So I don't understand why it was put in there for my son to get a hold to, and now my son doesn't have a life."

Makisha Gaffney holds a photo of her 2-year-old son, Mesia Wright.

Gaffney said that she will fight for justice for Masia.

"He's gone now and he has no voice, so I will be sure to make it my business to be his voice," Gaffney said.

Wright said that Anderson had helped raise the boy since he was 3 months old. He believes his son must have seen the cup and thought there was juice inside.

Police records show Anderson has several previous arrests, including several drug charges, petty theft and traffic charges.

Gaffney said she wasn't aware that the woman had a history of arrests.

"I wouldn't have had my son in that environment," she said.