Charges against mother: St. Paul baby died after ingesting fentanyl

A baby died after ingesting fentanyl inside a home in St. Paul's West Seventh neighborhood late last year, according to new criminal charges filed against the one-year-old girl's parents.

The baby's mother, 20-year-old Tessa J. Vorlicky, is charged with two counts of 2nd-degree manslaughter in connection with the Dec. 1, 2023 incident.

The child's father, 26-year-old Derrick M. Harrison, is charged with one count of child endangerment.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a residence on Toronto Street around 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, 2023 on a report of a one-year-old not breathing and occasionally gasping.

Vorlicky could be heard in the background of the 911 call screaming "where is the [expletive] Narcan? Did you give her Narcan?" charges state.

The 911 caller told the dispatcher the baby had "gotten into some of Vorlicky's drugs."

According to the criminal complaint, medics were working on the baby when police arrived. Vorlicky fled on foot, but was eventually detained and arrested on warrants.

Harrison allegedly lied about his identity initially and was also arrested on warrants when his real identify was ascertained, charges state.

Harrison has an extensive criminal record in Minnesota, including four prior burglary convictions and two ongoing criminal cases related to illegal possession of a firearm.

According to charges, Vorlicky's mother told police that Vorlicky and Harrison live in an upstairs bedroom and that the baby seemed normal and healthy when she left the home earlier that morning.

She said when Harrison arrived home that evening, he went upstairs and came running back down with the baby, "saying she wasn't breathing, was making strange noises, and had possibly gotten into drugs," charges state.

Vorlicky came downstairs and yelled at her mother to give the baby Narcan, which Vorlicky's mother told police she thought "was telling," the complaint reads.

Vorlicky's mother said she didn't know what the baby might have ingested but reported she frequently finds residue, straws and burned tinfoil laying around the house, as both daughters living at the home are addicted to drugs.

At the jail, Vorlicky went through severe withdrawals, according to charges.

Speaking to police, she allegedly admitted to smoking fentanyl the morning of the incident, but claimed drugs and tinfoil found in her bedroom belonged to her sister.

Vorlicky also allegedly claimed the items were only on the floor because they'd been thrown onto the floor when she was looking for the Narcan.

On a second search of Vorlicky's bedroom, police allegedly found 50 pieces of crumpled tinfoil with drug residue, loose pills, cut straws and other items related to suspected drug use.

In another interview with police, Vorlicky allegedly admitted to taking a Percocet and smoking methamphetamine the morning of the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, a hold had been placed on the child when she was born at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis in September 2022 because Vorlicky was using fentanyl at the hospital while in labor.

Following the Dec. 1 incident, the baby was declared brain dead Dec. 5 and organ donation was completed Dec. 7, according to charges.

An autopsy report complete last month found the baby had fentanyl in her body, according to charges. A fragment of folded metal foil was also recovered from her colon.