RILEY PADILLA - 1 yo (7/2013)/ Charged: Grandmother; Tracy Ann Harless - Great Falls MT

Details emerge in boy's death

Michael Beall
4:21 p.m. MDT June 26, 2014

Editor's note: This originally published Aug. 16, 2013.

A 48-year-old Great Falls woman was charged in the death of 1-year-old Riley Padilla, who died July 28 as a result of a drug overdose of oxycodone at a level that would have been fatal for an adult.

In addition to evidence of oxycodone, Riley's autopsy also indicated the presence of cocaine.

Tracy Ann Harless, Riley's grandmother, made her initial appearance Thursday on one count of negligent homicide. Cascade County District Judge Julie Macek set Harless' bond for $75,000, despite County Attorney John Parker's request of $200,000.

Parker told Macek the reason for the requested $200,000 bond was that the investigation led law enforcement to believe she was illegally selling pain medication and marijuana from her residence.

Macek said she couldn't take selling illegal drugs into consideration until charges were filed against her. Thursday's hearing regarded only the negligent homicide charge.

According to Montana Code, negligent homicide is when someone causes the death of another human when the person consciously disregards the risk that death will occur.

Law enforcement and emergency services arrived at the residence on 915 5th Ave. N.W. around 11:45 a.m. July 28 for a report of a dead baby. Upon arrival, the coroner pronounced Riley dead at the scene, court documents said.

Harless was baby-sitting Riley the previous night while Riley's mother was at the fair.

Harless asked detectives if she could go back into the home to retrieve her prescription, but due to the investigation, her request was denied, court documents said.

Harless told law enforcement that Riley struck his head on a coffee table inside the home around 2 p.m. the day before, but the incident didn't concern Harless at the time, as Riley didn't appear to have suffered any significant injury, documents said.

Later that night, the baby was placed in his crib, and he was checked on periodically throughout the night, but neither Harless, nor the baby's mother when she returned home, noticed anything out of the ordinary, documents said.

The next morning, the baby's mom was certain that Riley was in a different position than she had seen him before, and when the mother thought it was unusual for him to sleep that long, she found him non-responsive in his crib, documents said.

First responders reported the child was in full rigor mortis and lividity was present.

According to court documents, Great Falls police detectives learned that Harless has a prescription to oxycodone and was missing approximately 31 pills.

Great Falls Police Department Sgt. Chris Hickman said they used the date the prescription was given and subtracted the number of doses per day to uncover how many pills were missing.

Many witnesses told officers that Harless was distributing prescription pain relievers and marijuana illegally, according to documents.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for Harless' blood, and lab results indicated that she too had oxycodone and cocaine in her system.

During the initial search of the home, officers located evidence of illegal drug use, including marijuana and glass bongs, according to documents.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/child-abuse/2014/06/26/details-emerge-boys-death/11398377/

Grandmother pleads not guilty in child's overdose

October 04, 2013 7:26 am  •  Associated Press

GREAT FALLS - A 48-year-old Great Falls woman has denied causing the overdose death of her 1-year-old grandson this summer.

Tracy Ann Harless pleaded not guilty Thursday to negligent homicide in the death of Riley Padilla.

Court records say Riley died on July 28 of an overdose of the narcotic pain medication oxycodone that would have been fatal for an adult. The boy's autopsy also indicated the presence of cocaine.

Charging documents say a test of Harless' blood indicated she also had oxycodone and cocaine in her system.

Prosecutors say Harless was babysitting her grandson the evening of July 27, while the boy's mother went to the fair.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/grandmother-pleads-not-guilty-in-child-s-overdose/article_4b65e307-230c-565e-a64c-40f9cec18a77.html#ixzz363JujDkF