5-Week-Old Dorchester Baby Dies with Fentanyl in System, Mother Sentenced to Prison

Stop me if you've heard this before: a drug-addicted Massachusetts mother gets jail time for the neglect-related death of her child. Well, it's happened again.

Dorchester Woman Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter

Raynell Reed recently pleaded guilty in Boston's Suffolk Superior Court to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her premature 5-week-old daughter. The 32-year-old Dorchester woman was sentenced to five to seven years in prison.

Mass Daily News reported the baby, who weighed 2.5 pounds when she died, was born at home on December 5, 2024, and never saw a doctor. She died on January 9, 2025, "with fentanyl and cocaine in her blood," according to MDN.

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The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said the child's father, 53-year-old Gerard Winn, also of Dorchester, is facing a manslaughter charge and has a court appearance scheduled for November 10.

Massachusetts Mother Gets Jail For Death Of 5-Week-Old Daughter

Medical Examiner Details Cause of Death in Boston Infant Case

"During the five weeks of the infant's life, she failed to gain or maintain weight and was severely malnourished," according to a statement from the D.A.'s Office. "Despite knowing that their baby was born at least two months premature and observing the newborn was unable to gain or maintain weight, Reed and Winn never sought any medical care for the infant as her health continued to significantly deteriorate," the statement said.

"The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the infant died due to acute intoxication from the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine in a premature infant with malnourishment and sepsis," the statement read. "Toxicology confirmed the presence of both fentanyl and cocaine in the infant's heart blood and liver blood."

Suffolk County D.A. Calls Case 'Tragic' as Father Faces Charges

District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, "It's difficult to conceive of something more tragic than a child being born and then ignored to the extent it leads to death by malnutrition and sheer neglect."

We recently reported on the jailing of a Chelsea mother of three whose sick 3-year-old child died at home under the supervision of his 9-year-old brother while she drank at a bar, then spent the night at her boyfriend's apartment.