A high-profile TV couple are have been charged after their four-month old daughter tested positive for cocaine.
US TV presenters Krystin Lisaius and husband Somchai Lisaius were indicted on charges of possession of a dangerous drug, drug paraphernalia and child abuse on June 9.
The couple have since pleaded guilty to endangering their child’s welfare, and now face two years’ imprisonment if convicted.
The couple took their daughter to Oro Valley Hospital when she became ‘wobbly’ and ‘limp’. She was reportedly ‘unable to wake up’, and her eyes were ‘rolling into the back of her head’, according to the Tucson Weekly.
Initially the parents refused toxicology tests for the child, leaving and transferring to the Diamond Children’s Hospital where hospital staff finally confirmed that the baby girl had cocaine in her system.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, one detective wrote in a report: ‘It should be noted that at no time according to the report did either parent tell the hospital staff about the mother’s cocaine use the night before and Krystin continued to breast feed while at the hospital.’
Lisaius later admitted to police that she snorted cocaine with her husband at a party, adding she thought the baby would be fine if 12 hours had passed.
Their attorney, Michael Piccarreta, told the the Arizona Daily Star the couple is ’emotionally distraught and very, very upset. They have learned some lessons.’
He added, ‘We all make mistakes. We all have done things we regret.’
The couple currently have limited access to Mila and are due to be sentenced on October 3.
See the Royal Women’s Hospital’s fact sheets on breastfeeding for information about what is safe to consume while breastfeeding.
