A 54-year-old Darlington nurse is facing 10 years in prison after a Harford County Circuit Court jury convicted her of manslaughter for giving a 16-month-old toddler a cup full of methadone.
The jury deliberated for two hours Wednesday before finding Elaine Marie Butler guilty in the death of Ashton Preston. The boy died Dec. 15, 2004, after Butler gave her a cup of methadone, a synthetic narcotic used to treat heroin and morphine addicts, that belonged to his mother, Kelly Briggs, 25.
Butler waited hours before calling 911 because she feared she would lose her nursing license, said Assistant State?s Attorney Salvatore Fili.
“She put her own self-interest before the life of this child,” Fili said. “We call pediatricians when our child has an ear infection, a case of the sniffles or a loose bowel. This child ingested death, and she didn?t call a pediatrician.”
Briggs and Ashton had been living with Butler and her husband in Butler?s Darlington home while Briggs recovered from heroin addiction, according to testimony. Briggs, who had diluted a half-dose of her methadone in a Disney “sippy cup,” pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2006 and is serving five years of a 10-year sentence.
According to testimony in the five-day manslaughter trial, Butler had watched Ashton for several hours, but when he became fussy, she gave him the drink. He lost consciousness and stopped responding around 8 p.m. An autopsy showed he had consumed between 15 and 35 milligrams of methadone.
Fili said that Butler had enough training to recognize symptoms of a narcotic overdose and to know to call a doctor or 911 when a patient has ingested a narcotic.
Defense attorney Will Abercrombie countered that Butler was doing her duty as a nurse by keeping Ashton under observation.
A previous trial found Butler guilty of negligence but could not reach a verdict on manslaughter, leading to this week?s retrial.
Members of the jury and Butler?s husband declined to comment. Butler will be sentenced Friday.
