Mother sent to prison after son ingests meth, dies

SPANAWAY, Wash. — A Pierce County mother has been sentenced to 78 months in prison after her son ingested meth and died.

Alyia Iverson, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree Friday.

Several people were doing drugs inside Iverson’s home on Dec. 6, 2012, police say.

Iverson lived there with her 2-year-old son.

Authorities say Iverson admitted to seeing her toddler drink her bong water – but did not call 911.

Iverson instead swaddled him in a blanket and placed him on a bed. This irritated the toddler, authorities say.

Iverson says her son was “pissin’ and moanin,” so she “cleaned up the room enough that he had his own spot on the floor.”

At 3 a.m., Iverson discovered that her son was not breathing. When paramedics arrived, the toddler did not have a pulse – they couldn’t insert an airway tube because his jaw was locked.

The toddler was transported to the hospital, where the emergency room physician noted that his body was stiff, even though he had a temperature of 104 degrees.

The toddler’s pupils were fixed and dilated. Police report that he had multiple bruises and that his feet, fingers and nails were extremely dirty.

Fifteen minutes later, he was pronounced dead.

According to the medical examiner, the toddler died from methamphetamine poisoning. Toxicology reports show that he had also ingested THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Witnesses tell police that Iverson has a history of smoking meth in front of her children, that the house was typically unsanitary, and that the children were not properly fed and were physically abused.

The toddler and his sister were removed from Iverson’s home in 2011, authorities say, but she was able to regain custody.

Cox Media Group