Beaver County baby dies after ingesting heroin, mother charged
A 10-month-old girl died over the weekend, two weeks after ingesting heroin at a Beaver County home in September.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner said Myla Rushman died Saturday at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
The incident happened in the 1000 block of Rice Avenue in Ambridge on Sept. 25.
Before the child’s death, Ambridge police charged the her mother, Melissa Lynn Miller, 27, with child endangerment, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and a drug offense.
A representative of the Beaver County District Attorney’s office could not be reached for comment Tuesday regarding any changes or additions to the charges against Miller.
Miller was being held in Beaver County Jail on $200,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19, according to online court records.
A criminal complaint filed against Miller said police went to Rice Avenue shortly before 2 p.m. Sept. 25 for a report of a 10-month-old that was not breathing.
When officers arrived, the complaint said that Miller was standing at the door holding her baby, who was not responding, not breathing, had no pulse and whose skin appeared to be blue.
Police said that when officers asked Miller what happened, she said, “Please sir, she needs Narcan.”
Miller told officers she is a recovering addict and had found several stamp bags of heroin in an old purse in her closet, according to the complaint. Police said Miller told them she used two of them earlier that day and had been keeping the rest in her waistband.
Police said Miller told them she believed the stamp bags fell from her waistband to where the baby could get it. Upon finding the baby not moving and unresponsive, police said Miller told them she called 911 and found the stamp bags in the baby’s mouth.
Miller told police the baby had been down for five minutes, the complaint states.
Officers gave the baby a second dose of Narcan after she did not respond to the first and performed CPR until medics arrived. The baby was initially taken to the Heritage Valley Beaver hospital in Brighton Township.
Miller’s attorney, Steven Valsamidis, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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