Pa. mom charged in homicide of boy, 2; allegedly put Vicodin in sippy cup
TULLYTOWN, Pa. -- A mother has been charged with criminal homicide in the poisoning death of a 2-year-old boy in Tullytown, Bucks County.
Jennifer Clarey has been charged with one count of criminal homicide in connection to the death of Mazikeen Curtis.
Mazikeen's body was found inside his home in the 500 block of Lovett Avenue just after 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 25th.
According to court documents, Clarey allegedly poisoned her son, putting Vicodin inside the boy's sippy cup, causing him to overdose.
Mazikeen's sippy cup was sent to a lab where tests revealed the presence of Vicodin on the sippy cup and in the contents of the sippy cup.
Authorities say an empty Vicodin prescription bottle was later found inside a closed lock box in the home.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub says when they researched Mazikeen's medical history they could not find any prescriptions for Vicodin.
Authorities said the gruesome discovery was made after responding to a welfare check.
Neighbor Dawn Dunlap said she and her neighbors were the ones who called for the check.
"Me and my other neighbor, we discussed it and said, 'you know what, this is something we have to do,'" Dunlap said.
She said just hours before the boy was found dead his mother, Jennifer Clarey, was acting extremely out of character.
"It wasn't something that I had ever seen before so for me to hear and see what I was seeing was just not her," Dunlap said.
Authorities say Jennifer Clarey was found inside the home with self-inflicted wounds to her wrists.
Clarey is now being held without bail at the Bucks County Prison.
