"It's heart-wrenching:" Child dies after drinking mother's methadone from water bottle

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office says a 20-month-old child died after drinking her mother's methadone from a water bottle.

The child was pronounced dead outside her home near 76th and Medford just before 8:00 p.m. on Friday, September 25th.

Police were called to the home shortly before 7:30 p.m.  Police say Kyleeh Mazaba was found unresponsive by her mother after a nap.

"I had heard like, this blood-curdling scream," Harriet Hill said.

Hill and other neighbors rushed from their homes to help.

"I heard screaming of 'oh my gosh she is dead. She is dead. Elizabeth was screaming erratically that her child was dead. Her neighbor who lived down here was trying to console her and that`s when I ran down and found the child on the front and everything," Hill said.

CPR was attempted by neighbors prior to the arrival of the Milwaukee Fire Department. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful and the child died on scene.

"I couldn`t do anything but pray. I prayed over the child. I prayed with Elizabeth. It was a floodgate of 911 calls coming in to try and help save this child," Hill said.

Initial reports indicate the child drank her mother's methadone that had been stored in a water bottle.

The report indicates earlier on Friday, the child's mother took one of her children to a doctor's appointment and left Kyleeh in the van with her eight-year-old son while she went inside.

It was later discovered Kyleeh drank methadone while in the van.

Kyleeh's mother, who is currently taking methadone, stated she must have poured half her dose into an empty water bottle that was in her van.

"It`s just heart-wrenching," Hill said. "Kyleeh was quiet. She was a wondrous type of child -- big, round, beautiful eyes. She seemed like a really wonderful kid."

An autopsy was performed on Saturday and no trauma was found.  The cause of death is pending further toxicology testing and confirmation.

At this time, there have been no arrests in this case. The case will be presented to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office when the investigation is complete.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.