LANCASTER, Calif.—The mother of a 17-month-old boy who died due to fentanyl ingestion during what was supposed to be a monitored visit at a Lancaster home was behind bars Wednesday in connection with murder and other charges.
Jessica Dominique Darthard, 39, was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $2.08 million bail while awaiting arraignment Nov. 25 in a Lancaster courtroom in connection with the Feb. 18 death of the toddler, Justin Bulley.
The county Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that the boy died due to the “effects of fentanyl.”
Darthard and her father, 72-year-old Jessie Milton Darthard, were charged in late September with murder. Jessica Darthard was also charged with four counts of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death….