SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane father has been accused of dealing deadly pills after his 17-month-old daughter overdosed on fentanyl.
The suspect, 31-year-old Frank Marusic, allegedly sold "Blue Mexi" pills, which are counterfeit Oxycodone pills. Before his daughter's death, the Spokane Police Department (SPD) had been investigating Marusic for months and even set up four separate undercover operations to buy from him in September.
He was arrested on Dec. 16 after the Spokane County Medical Examiner found a lethal dose of fentanyl in his daughter's system.
According to court documents, the girl's mother found her limp, pale and unconscious. She then yelled for roommates to call 911.
Marusic gave his daughter Narcan and witnesses told police he was worried she "got into something." The baby was then taken to the hospital with a serious brain injury.
According to court documents, her parents didn't show up to the hospital until one day later. She was then taken off a ventilator and died on Dec. 7. Doctors told police the parents provided no reasonable explanation for her injury.
The girl's 4-year-old brother was interviewed by a child specialist and said his sister got ahold of a pill that her father gave her. When asked what color the pill was, he pointed to blue playdough in the room.
Marusic was charged with controlled substance homicide and three counts of selling a controlled substance. He is in the Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bond.