Police suspect a Cincinnati mother died of a heroin overdose in her daughter's room at a children's hospital.
MaryAnn Landers and her husband Wesley Landers were at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for their 7-month-old daughter.
WEWS reported that the girl was born with a small airway.
The Landers were at the hospital for their daughter's surgery, a double-stage laryngotracheal reconstruction, which reconstructed her trachea. The Wednesday surgery was successful.
Cincinnati police spokeswoman Tiffaney Hardy said hours after the operation the 32-year-old mother was found dead at 11:34 a.m. in her child's hospital room.
Wesley Landers was found unresponsive in the bathroom of the hospital room but he survived.
WLWT reported the 31-year-old father had three used heroin syringes and a loaded handgun with him in the bathroom.
Chief Tom Synan of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition said an investigation is underway to determine if it was heroin was involved in the overdoses.
"You would think they wouldn't be compelled to do something like that; that the child would be the No. 1 priority, but I don't think we're dealing with people anymore," Synan said. "It's the heroin, and the heroin literally takes over."
Wesley Landers is in jail on drugs and weapons charges. He is held on $500,000 bail.
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