Alberta must do more to fight drug crisis after methamphetamine death of ‘perfect baby girl,’ inquiry says

A month-old baby girl who died of drug poisoning in 2019 was an innocent victim of the methamphetamine epidemic overtaking communities in Alberta, a fatality inquiry has found.

In her report, Justice Jody Moher of the Alberta Court of Justice implores the provincial government to take action in aftermath of the death of Briella Johanne Brooks in July 2019.

"A perfect baby girl with blue eyes and fine dark hair, who was only 33 days old on the day she died, cannot have died without all of us knowing of her loss," Moher wrote in the report, published Monday.

"We must all stand for her so that the profound tragedy of her death from methamphetamine poisoning is known. WE must do more," Moher added, capitalizing "we" for emphasis.

She said Briella's case should prompt improvements in public awareness around the dangers drugs can pose to children.

She also called on the province to ensure the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) is better equipped to investigate the rising number of suspected overdoses.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Alberta Justice said it has accepted Moher's recommendation and will improve resourcing at the OCME.

The ministry said government officials are reviewing the second recommendation and will "continue looking for opportunities" to educate Albertans on the dangers of illicit drugs and addiction, and their deadly impact on families.

Briella died on July 24, 2019, after she was found unresponsive in the living room of her family's home in the northwest Edmonton neighbourhood of Sherbrooke.

The official cause of death was methamphetamine toxicity. The manner of death was deemed accidental. It remains unclear how the baby ingested the drug, an illicit and potent stimulant.

'Profoundly tragic'

"Briella Brooks' death was profoundly tragic," Moher wrote. "The poisoning death of any child by illegal drugs is made more tragic by the undeniable fact that by their very nature such deaths are preventable."

On the morning of her death, Briella was at home with her mother, Denise Lee Anne Letendre, her father, Steven Lyle Brooks, and the family's two Rottweilers. CBC has tried to make contact with both parents but has not been successful.

The infant woke up that day around 2 a.m. and was fed and changed by her mother before being placed back in her bassinet.

When she woke again around 5 a.m., she was fed by her mother in living room, the inquiry heard. The two then fell asleep side by side on the couch, covered in a light blanket.

Around 8:40 a.m., Briella's father woke up and found the baby unresponsive on the couch beside her mother. Shortly before 9 a.m., the girl's parents called 911 after attempting CPR.

Briella was in cardiac arrest with no detectable heartbeat. She was declared dead in hospital around 9:30 a.m.

Investigators initially concluded that the baby— born healthy on June 21, 2019 — had accidentally suffocated in her sleep. But the autopsy findings revealed that she was exposed to methamphetamine.

The inquiry determined that the girl had meth in her system but the inquiry could not determine how she ingested it.

Dr. Cecilia Wu, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, reported that the level detected in the infant was high.

"There is no safe level of methamphetamine in an infant," Wu reported. "It is likely that the infant consumed the methamphetamine either via a contaminated bottle, via breast milk or a combination of both formula and breast milk. "

Investigation delayed by toxicology report

Dr. Craig Chatterton, chief toxicologist in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, concluded the toxicology findings proved unequivocally that Briella ingested methamphetamine sometime in the hours prior to her death.

He also concluded that "a heavy oral dose would be required" to result in the levels found after Briella's death.

Fatality inquiries do not determine legal responsibility but judges can make recommendations for preventing similar deaths.

Moher recommends that toxicology reports need to be made available to investigators in a more timely manner.

The OCME and its toxicology lab should be adequately resourced to provide timely drug screening test results to families and police agencies, she wrote.

"Family members of loved ones dying of possible or suspected drug toxicity are often desperate for answers in the immediate aftermath of the death of a family member. This is especially true with the unexplained death of an infant or child," Moher wrote.

The inquiry heard the police investigation into Briella's death was significantly delayed when toxicology results were not available for months.

Chatterton testified about a significant increase in toxicology tests ordered as part of death investigations, both as Alberta's population increases and as opioid and illegal drug deaths increase.

Government data detailed in Moher's report reveals a sharp increase in the number of drug poisoning deaths in Alberta — from 13.2 per 100,000 person years in 2016 to 40.7 in the first six months of 2023.

Chatterton told the inquiry that his office prepared more than 4,700 toxicology reports last year, and that for the first time in his tenure, illegal drugs have exceeded alcohol as a cause of death.

He noted the OCME has investigated 16 deaths of children involving drug toxicity in the past 13 years, and that nine of the deaths involved children under two years of age.

'Such a potent drug'

In her report, Moher also calls on the province to increase public awareness and funding for programs addressing substance misuse, including public awareness programs on the dangers of any exposure for infants and children.

"Briella is undeniably an innocent victim of the methamphetamine 'epidemic' overtaking our communities in Alberta," she wrote.

"It is naive and beyond the scope of this fatality inquiry to believe that any single recommendation could alleviate the suffering associated with methamphetamine related deaths in Alberta.

"A comprehensive long-term approach is necessary. As a society we all share responsibility for implementing measures to prevent similar deaths."

Dr. Monty Ghosh, an addiction and internal medicine specialist and an assistant clinical professor at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, said the death of a child due to drug poisoning is rare and tragic.

"It's horrific," Ghosh said Monday.

"Meth is a such a potent drug so it's hard to think that someone had this in their system at such a young age."

He said the case is a tragic reminder of how vulnerable infants are to poisoning. Even a small amount of powerful drugs can prove deadly, he said.

"These drugs are toxic and we should be doing our due diligence to keep them away from young children.

"Whether it's an prescription drug or an illicit drug, we need to be very, very cautious."