Authorities have charged the parents of a 4-year-old girl with her death.
Police said the girl had overdosed on what appeared to be "rainbow fentanyl" pills in Washington state last week. A nationwide manhunt is underway after a $500,000 warrant was issued for Joseph E. C. Walker, 30, of Kennewick. Benton County Superior Court is charging the father with first-degree manslaughter and with violating a protection order. As of Thursday, Walker remains at large, and online records show he has not yet been booked into the jail. The girl's mother, Judy, Bribiescas, 39, is being held on $200,000 bail on a charge of first-degree manslaughter.
USA TODAY obtained a press release from the Kennewick Police Department revealing that officers responded to an Econo Lodge just after 9:30 p.m. for a report of a child who had stopped breathing. Walker allegedly lived, according to the Daily Chronicle, at the Econo Lodge on the 300 block of Ely Street with Bribiescas. However, a no-contact order had been issued in July 2022 to keep him away from her.
Security footage from the motel caught Walker, Bribiescas and the children walk into the motel room at 8:39 p.m. on Dec. 27. according to court documents acquired by the Daily Chronicle.
Their 8-year-old son told investigators the couple were in the bathroom for a long period. Police believe they were doing drugs and that's when 4-year-old Ryleigh swallowed at least two fentanyl pills and one pink pill, commonly known as "Skittles" fentanyl, was later found stuck in her nose. Emergency medical technicians performed first aid and transported the child to a local hospital 4 miles away, Trios Southridge Hospital, where the child later died.
Bribiescas originally told police she found the girl unresponsive and called 911.
What Did Walker Do?
Security video shows Walker open the motel room door with his daughter in his arms. Before he walks out, he hands the girl to Bribiescas and then runs to a nearby vehicle.
Police allegedly found more fentanyl pills after searching the motel.
Walker has a history of violating protection orders. He was sentenced to over a year in prison in July as part of a drug offender sentencing alternative. This is his fourth conviction for violating the protection order since July 28.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid similar to but 100 times more potent than morphine and heroin. Its misuse and abuse can be extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. The case remains under investigation.
