January 20, 2016
Contributed Art/Montgomery County District Attorney's Office
Christina Griffith, of Upper Merion, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of her two-year-old daughter Trinity.
A Montgomery County woman whose two-year-old daughter died after accidentally ingesting prescription drugs last July has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and related charges, District Attorney Kevin Steele and Upper Merion Police Chief Thomas Nolan announced Wednesday.
Christina Griffith, of Upper Merion, allegedly observed her daughter ingest her prescribed Subutex and Klonopin tablets after they fell on the floor of a Motel 6 unit in King of Prussia on July 30, 2015. At 10:55 a.m. that morning, Upper Merion Township Police found the toddler, Trinity, dead and were told by her mother that she ate the pills.
An autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner's Office revealed conclusively that Trinity's death was caused by combined drug intoxication. Toxicology tests found buprenorphine (Subutex), used to treat narcotic addition, and clonazepam (Klonopin), an anti-anxiety medication, in the toddler's system. Both drugs are DEA scheduled substances.
Prosecutors say that Christina Griffith failed to act quickly enough and call for medical attention that would have saved her daughter's life. Because she had a legal parental obligation to do so, prosecutors contend Griffith was reckless, grossly negligent and responsible for Trinity's death.
Griffith was arraigned Wednesday morning before Magisterial District Judge William Maruszczak and held on $500,000 cash bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3.
