A mother lost custody of her three children after drugging them so that they would go to sleep, police in Washington said.
Ashlee Hutt, 24, and her boyfriend, Leeroy ‘Mac’ McIver, 25, of Spanaway, were arrested.
Both pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree child assault, delivery of a controlled substance to a person under 18 and child endangerment.
The couple was jailed after child protective services received a call about the couple giving a “sleeping juice” to the children so they sleep better.
A CPS worker wrote in a report that Hutt’s 6-year-old son said that his mother gives him and his sisters a “feel good medicine,” which he described as a white powder mixed with water.
He said that his mother also sometimes used a needle to inject the “feel good medicine” in him and his sisters, who are 2 and 4 years old.
All three children were taken to a hospital to be tested for drugs. Doctors allegedly found puncture marks and bruising consistent with them being poked with a needle.
Two children were found to have heroin in their system.
Police found the children living among rat droppings and dirty needles when they visited the house after being alerted to the situation by a friend of the couple.
The children were removed from the home and were placed in a foster homes. Both Hutt and McIver, who allegedly admitted to being junkies, are being held in jail.