Amber Rose Landry, 29
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Damien Landry was 17 months old when he ate his parents’ oxycodone pills and died.
On Friday, eight months after Damien’s death, his parents were arrested on charges of homicide/aggravated manslaughter of a child, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Damien’s two siblings – ages 2 and 9 – are living with their grandparents. The 2-year-old also tested positive for oxycodone the day Damien died.
The Port Charlotte couple, Amber Rose Landry, 29, and Scott Paul Landry, 31, called 911 in November and said their son wasn’t breathing, according to a sheriff’s office statement. Damien was rushed to Peace River Regional Medical Center, where he arrived in cardiac arrest. He died about five hours after his parents’ 911 call.
An autopsy found no trauma to Damien. When the toxicology screening came back, it reported a toxic level of oxycodone in the baby’s blood, which contributed to his death. The baby’s heart stopped and lungs filled with fluid, the autopsy found.
After learning the results of the toxicology report in December, deputies re-interviewed Amber and Scott Landry. They admitted to snorting oxycodone the night before their son’s death, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives said the parents failed to supervise Damien and prevent him from ingesting the lethal dose because they were under influence of the drug.
Amber and Scott Landry had originally told deputies they were both on methadone and did not take any other medication. In a search of their home, deputies found a locked drawer that contained three empty bottles of oxycodone prescribed to Scott Landry. They also found two empty bottles of methadone prescribed to him.
The other two children were removed from the Landry home by the Department of Children and Families after deputies found the couple’s drugs, and a pediatrician tested their blood.
The couple’s family declined comment on Saturday.
On Amber Landry’s Facebook page, a smiling picture of baby Damien reaching toward the camera is the first thing that pops up.
“I love nothing more than spending time with my family,” the mother wrote in her Facebook profile. “I love being a mother and watching my children grow up. They grow so fast though that you sit back and wonder where all the time has gone and how in the heck did they grow up so fast.”
According to Amber Landry’s Facebook page, Damien was born 18 weeks early and weighed only 1 pound, 6 ounces. He was hospitalized in critical condition for several months. Pictures on the page show the baby feeding from a bottle, with breathing tubes taped to his nose.
Scott and Amber Landry are in Charlotte County Jail with no bail. Scott Landry has an arrest record in Charlotte dating back to 2003. He has been arrested on charges that include possession of Xanax without a prescription, narcotic equipment possession and/or use, battery and grand theft.
