San Francisco prosecutors file citys first murder case in fentanyl child death

San Francisco prosecutors have turned a deadly child-endangerment case on the 3800 block of 18th Street into the city’s first murder prosecution tied to a fatal fentanyl overdose, a sharp escalation that will test how far District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is willing to push homicide law in the fentanyl crisis.

An amended complaint filed April 15 added second-degree murder charges against Michelle Price, 38, and Steve Ramirez, 43, along with allegations that both willfully caused harm or injury resulting in death to a child. The District Attorney’s Office said this is the first murder case it has filed in connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose. Prosecutors also preserved the original child-endangerment, fentanyl possession and paraphernalia counts, and added new paraphernalia and resisting or delaying an officer allegations against Ramirez.

Police responded around 5:16 a.m. on February 12 after a 911 call that the child was not breathing. Medics pronounced the toddler dead at the scene, and investigators said the child had likely been dead for hours. Court filings say Price showed signs of intoxication, including droopy eyes and slurred speech, while Ramirez tried to flee on a bicycle before officers detained him. The Medical Examiner ruled the death acute fentanyl toxicity after toxicology found lethal fentanyl levels in the child’s blood, along with Narcan. Prosecutors said both adults had high levels of fentanyl and methamphetamine in their systems when they were arrested.

Investigators described the apartment as cluttered and unsafe, with fentanyl left in the open and accessible to the toddler. Officers recovered used pipes, lighters, torches, a used Narcan container, white powder later confirmed as fentanyl, and spoiled milk and stained sheets. The child, identified in some reporting as Stevie Price, had been hospitalized for months after being born with fentanyl in her system, and prosecutors said Narcan in the apartment underscored that the adults understood the drug’s lethality.

The case is likely to intensify San Francisco’s already fierce fight over fentanyl, child safety and criminal accountability. The city recorded 635 accidental overdose deaths in 2024, including 83 involving fluorofentanyl, 62 involving xylazine and 25 involving bromazolam. In October 2023, city, state and law-enforcement leaders announced a joint task force to investigate opioid-linked deaths and poisonings like homicide cases, and Mayor Daniel Lurie signed a fentanyl state-of-emergency ordinance on February 12, 2025, while announcing a 24/7 police-friendly stabilization center at 822 Geary Street. Price was released before her February 19 arraignment and Ramirez was released February 24, both over prosecutors’ objections, as the case now heads toward a Thursday hearing at the Hall of Justice.