Court docs: 3-year-old dies after ingesting methadone while caregiver high on heroin

INDIANAPOLIS — A caregiver admitted to failing a 3-year-old boy by getting high and leaving out a cup of methadone which led to a young boy overdosing and dying, court documents state.

James Roberson, 69, faces preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has not yet filed official charges.

According to court documents, first responders were called to a home on Carpenter Court on the city’s near southeast side on Jan. 25 at roughly 4:30 a.m. Arriving medics discovered an unresponsive 3-year-old boy and attempted life-saving measures.

Blood had to be suctioned out of the child’s mouth before medics were able to put an airway into the boy. Despite these efforts, the 3-year-old was pronounced dead at 5:26 a.m.

The child was identified as Asher Robinson. An autopsy ultimately revealed Asher died from acute methadone intoxication.

Court documents detail how multiple people lived in the home on Carpenter Court including Roberson. Roberson and at least one other person in the home were known drug users, according to witnesses, with Roberson known to frequent the methadone clinic every Friday because of his addiction.

One of the women living at the home told officers how she noticed a “milky/white substance” on Asher’s lips when she went to move him the night before he was found dead. The child seemed normal to her at the time.

However, around 1 a.m., another woman who lived in the home woke up and noticed Asher breathing strangely. An hour or so later, the child was still doing the same thing. At 4 a.m., she woke up again to check on the child and noticed Asher was no longer making any noises. He was also cold to the touch.

Court documents reveal that a neighbor attempted chest compressions on Asher until medics arrived.

When police spoke to Roberson, he claimed no one in the home did any drugs. But others in the home said otherwise, saying Roberson and another occupant were known to use heroin and fentanyl.

A search of Roberson’s room also revealed leaking bottles of methadone.

According to court documents, a drug screen revealed Robinson tested positive for fentanyl at the time of the child’s death. An autopsy of Asher also revealed high levels of methadone in his system.

In a follow-up interview with Roberson, on Feb. 25, he admitted to pouring methadone into a cup the morning before Asher’s death. He left the cup on top of his dresser and forgot about it. Roberson allegedly told investigators that he believed Asher climbed up a chair and drank from the cup, which is how the methadone got in the child’s system.

Roberson also admitted to shooting up heroin later that same day, a few hours before Asher went to bed. He said due to being high, he didn’t realize at that point that Asher had got into the methadone cup.

Roberson reportedly admitted to failing the 3-year-old by getting high instead of caring for the young boy.

If charged and convicted of a Level 1 felony, Roberson could face up to 40 years in prison.

Editor’s note: This story was initially published with an incorrect booking photo after a mix-up by IMPD.