Prosecutors seek manslaughter charge in Oak Harbor toddler’s fentanyl death

Prosecutors in Island County moved to widen the criminal case against Oak Harbor resident Jessica Kido after new autopsy and toxicology findings tied her 2-year-old son’s death to acute fentanyl intoxication and said death came on in minutes. The July 10 filing seeks a first-degree manslaughter charge, raising the stakes from a drug-and-weapons case to a homicide-level allegation.

Under Washington law, first-degree manslaughter means recklessly causing the death of another person, and it is a class A felony. To prove that count, prosecutors will have to show not just that fentanyl was present, but that Kido’s conduct met the legal standard for recklessness and caused the child’s death.

The toddler died May 24 after Kido called 911 shortly before 9 p.m., court records say. Paramedics took the boy to WhidbeyHealth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Preliminary testing had already indicated exposure to suspected fentanyl and cocaine, and the child was 2 years old when the case first reached court.

Island County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Cliff set bail at $300,000 after Kido’s arrest on suspicion of manslaughter, reckless endangerment and fentanyl possession. Prosecutors later filed charges for possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and 10 counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm while they waited for the final medical reports that have now prompted the new manslaughter request.

Detectives said Kido told them she had put the child down for a nap and later found blood on him. They also said a 4-year-old child in the apartment was unharmed and later taken into protective custody. Kido told police her husband was deployed with the Navy.

The Oak Harbor Police Department also reported finding suspected fentanyl, more than $6,000 in cash, a scale, a notebook that appeared to track drug sales and a safe holding roughly 30 firearms. Officers said Kido was barred from possessing guns because of an earlier felony conviction in North Carolina.

The new filing shifts the case from an overdose-and-weapons investigation toward a broader allegation that prosecutors will need to carry through pretrial hearings and, if it goes that far, trial. Defense attorneys are likely to challenge the autopsy conclusions, the toxicology interpretation and whether the evidence proves reckless conduct caused the toddler’s death. The amendment also places the case within Washington’s wider fentanyl crisis, which the state Department of Health says continues to drive overdose harm across the state.