Baby girl's death from drug intoxication leads to white woman's arrest on aggravated manslaughter charge

Boynton Beach police arrested Kelly Ann Kirwan this week, alleging that a child under her care died from ingesting fentanyl 

By Edward Era Barbacena

A 32-year-old woman is facing a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child following the death of a baby girl in March.

The child began to struggle during a trip to a Target store to buy baby formula, police report. Hours later, she was dead.

Boynton Beach police arrested Kelly Ann Kirwan this week, alleging that a child under her care died from ingesting drugs. A police report indicates that Kirwan has addresses both in Boynton Beach and in New Jersey. 

The report did not specify her relationship to the child. According to the report, the child died in April and the Palm Beach County medical examiner ruled that the death was a homicide.

Boynton Beach police arrested Kelly Ann Kirwan this week, alleging that a child under her care died from ingesting drugs. A police report indicates that Kirwan has addresses both in Boynton Beach and in New Jersey. 

The report did not specify her relationship to the child. According to the report, the child died in April and the Palm Beach County medical examiner ruled that the death was a homicide.

Kirwan remained in custody as of Thursday afternoon, jail records show. The attorney who represented Kirwan in court declined a request for comment. 

Investigators say an ambulance crew rushed the 10-month-old to Bethesda East Hospital on the night of March 31 after Kirwan called 911. Doctors later transferred the child to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, where she died. 

Prior to the 911 call, Kirwan was driving to a Target store in suburban Boynton Beach to buy baby formula, with the child in a car seat, according to the arrest report. While Kirwan was on a video call, the person on the other end saw  the child making strange noises and slumped over and told Kirwan to pull over and call for help. 

The medical staff at Bethesda told law enforcement the child had suffered cardiac arrest as a result of alcohol toxicity. The police report said the cause of death was intoxication of fluorofentanyl and fentanyl due to the ingestion of illicit narcotics.