Cobb mother said her child choked. Police say boy died from fentanyl

A Cobb County mother told investigators her 2-year-old silently choked on bread and a raisin that he ate next to her bed. Jocelyn Romero said she left the boy to go to the bathroom and returned to find him with blue lips, her arrest warrant states.

But after little Jeziel Romero died, investigators discovered what they believe caused his death: His blood tested positive for fentanyl. It was also found in his home, according to investigators.

Last week, a Cobb grand jury indicted the boy’s mother and a man accused of trafficking both methamphetamine and fentanyl with her, according to the district attorney.

Jocelyn Romero was indicted on six counts, including felony murder, possession of fentanyl, two counts of trafficking fentanyl, trafficking meth and illegal use of communication facility, the indictment states. Pablo Calihua Garcia was indicted on all of the same charges except murder.

“Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine,” according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although pharmaceutical fentanyl may be prescribed for severe pain such as from that of advanced cancer, most overdoses and deaths in the U.S. involve illegally-made forms of the drug, the CDC website states. Even in small does, fentanyl can be deadly.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that there were 2,390 drug overdose deaths in the state in 2021, with 57% of those attributed to fentanyl.

Romero was arrested Jan. 10, followed by Garcia on Feb. 28, according to jail records. Both were being held without bond Wednesday. Address records show the two previously lived together in a Smyrna-area apartment.

On Dec. 4, Romero took her son to Northside Hospital while he was unconscious and not breathing, her warrant states.

“The defendant stated the child fell asleep alive,” the warrant states. “The victim child was acting perfectly normal the entire day and was not left awake and unsupervised.”

The next court appearances for Romero and Garcia have not been set.

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