17-Year-Old Father Shocked After Infant Son Died As Mother Mistook Fentanyl For Cocaine

17-year-old Phillip Word, the father of  a 9-month-old baby who died after overdosing on fentanyl, in Florida, says that he is shocked over his son’s death.

The details around the baby’s death, that occurred last month, are unusual.

Reports from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office show that the child’s mother, 17, confessed to giving the child named Elijah, fentanyl. However, she stated that it was unintentional as she meant to give him cocaine to help him sleep. Because cocaine is a stimulant, it isn’t known why she believed it would aid in the baby going to sleep.

It is reported that Elijah had enough fentanyl in his system to kill 10 adults.

Now, Word says that he had hoped to get to know his son a little better and says he could have cared for the child at anytime although he hadn’t seen him much. He added that he learned of the child’s death after a friend messaged him.

“He had a whole other family that he never got to meet. They loved him. They never got to meet him and had the most love that they could for him,” Word stated.