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Quanique Smith pleaded guilty on Wednesday, May 24 to second-degree aggravated manslaughter, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago
Shortly after 1 a.m. on Jan. 5, Asbury Park police responded to an apartment on the 100 block of Langford Street for an unresponsive child.
Police found the child, who was rushed to a local hospital, where despite lifesaving efforts he was pronounced dead shortly before 2 a.m., Santiago said.
An investigation led by Detective Stephen Cavendish of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Bureau and Detective Anthony Houlis of the Asbury Park Police Department determined that quantities of heroin and fentanyl belonging to Smith had been left in the family’s home, within reach of the 2-year-old and his 5-year-old sibling, with the younger child ingesting the drugs that directly caused his death, Santiago said.
Smith was arrested later the same day and taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) before being indicted in late March.
Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for Sept. 7, at which time Smith is expected to face a term of eight years in New Jersey State Prison.
She must serve nearly seven years prior to being eligible for parole under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.
The sentencing hearing is set to take place before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux.
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