TOOELE COUNTY, Utah – The mother of a 2-year-old boy who died of an apparent overdose on methadone has been formally charged Wednesday with second-degree child abuse homicide.
The charge, which is a felony, was filed against Jill Goff, who is scheduled to make her initial court appearance on February 10 before Judge Adkins.
Goff was initially brought in to custody on child abuse and reckless endangerment charges after 2-year-old Aiden Goff died due to an overdose of methadone on January 31. As police were investigating the death, two of the child’s siblings were brought to a hospital and tested positive for the drug.
Methadone is a pain reliever similar to morphine that is often used to help addicts wean themselves off of heroin or similar narcotics. It is a controlled substance.
According to a probable cause statement, Goff told police she stored the methadone in a Gatorade bottle on the floor between her bed and the wall. She said she poured the liquid into a sippy cup and gave it to Aiden, who didn’t like it. She then had the 5-year-old and 8-year-old try it, she told police, and when the 8-year-old said it tasted like medicine she realized she had poured methadone rather than Gatorade into the sippy cup.
Goff told police she attempted to get Aiden to vomit and then took a nap with him. She told police she didn’t call EMS or poison control because she was scared, according to the probable cause statement.
