A mother has recounted the horrifying day she tragically lost two of her children following a fatal fentanyl overdose. Kate Jones, from Maryland, returned home early from work on 14 January 2024 to find her 10-year-old son, Gaige, and her 14-year-old daughter, Skylar, lifeless in bed after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl. It was their 12-year-old sister who noticed they had ‘never got out of bed.’
In an interview, Kate recounted the harrowing moment she had to call for an ambulance after finding a ‘baggie’ beside Skylar’s bed. To this day, she remains unaware of where it came from, it is reported.
Kate, who was working as a lorry driver at the time, said that before the tragic day, everything had seemed normal. Skylar, 14, her sister Allyson, 12, and Gaige, 10, had spent the previous night watching films and went to bed as usual. Gaige would often cuddle up in his eldest sister’s bed at night, something Kate says was typical, as the two had been close since his birth.
The next morning, she left for work, leaving the children in the care of their grandparents, who also lived in the house. The children had a day off school due to a snow day, so they remained in bed.
Kate’s lorry broke down, causing her to finish work early. As she was leaving, she received a devastating call from her middle child. Allyson told her that her two siblings hadn’t stirred from their beds, which left Kate with a sinking feeling. “I said, ‘Are they breathing?'” Kate asked, before racing home and instructing Allyson to get her grandparents.
She recalls: “I get to the house, I run up the steps. I opened the door and I looked in, and of course I knew – a 12-year-old little girl’s not going to know, but I knew.” She immediately called the emergency services upon realising the grim reality. Kathy, the children’s grandmother, rushed in and began performing CPR.
When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics took over the resuscitation efforts, but tragically, the children were pronounced dead at the scene. Kate expressed her profound grief, saying: “Skylar, my oldest – that’s my best friend. The one who made me a mom. And my son was my mama’s boy.”
