Las Vegas mother charged with murder in fentanyl overdose death of 1-year-old son

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A 1-year-old boy died after taking fentanyl, prompting prosecutors to charge his mother with second-degree murder, documents show.

Kiera McCall, 31, has been charged with the murder of her son, Mathias McCall, documents show.

On June 6, 2023, paramedics responded to a home near Lake Mead and Nellis boulevards for a report of an unresponsive child. Mathias died at a hospital three days later. The Clark County Coroner’s Office determined he died of fentanyl toxicity, a spokesman said. His death was ruled an accident.

A witness told officers who responded to the initial call that McCall appeared “high” as paramedics tended to her son, documents show, adding that “the child may have gotten heroin under the bed.”

In an interview with police, McCall said she used marijuana and edibles, but not in the home, documents state. She also denied having any drugs in the apartment but said she had used heroin before.

“When asked about other drugs, she stated that her roommate was using heroin,” the documents read. “Kiera stated that she had previously found small pieces of heroin in the house and swept them up while cleaning.” In an interview with police, the roommate denied using heroin.

After obtaining a search warrant, police searched the apartment and found several items believed to contain drug residue, a pipe and other drug paraphernalia, the documents said.

Police did not provide any other information about how the child gained access to the fentanyl. They only suspect that McCall was the only person who could have provided it to him, the documents read.

A now-closed GoFundMe page shows that Machias’ organs were donated to save the lives of other children.

City police arrested McCall on Wednesday, June 26, more than a year after her son died, documents state. During McCall’s probable cause hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court on Tuesday, Judge Rebecca Saxe denied bail. McCall failed to appear in court for medical reasons ahead of her scheduled initial appearance Tuesday. The hearing was rescheduled for July 9.

In 2023, 302 people died from fentanyl overdoses in Clark County, up 28% from 2022.