Mother Charged in Baby's Drug Death

GWYNN OAK — A Baltimore-area mother has been charged with murder and child neglect after her baby allegedly died from opioid exposure earlier this year.

Kevia Dijahmonte Gray, 26, currently of Baltimore City, appeared Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, first-degree child abuse resulting in death, neglect, and reckless endangerment.

Gray, who is free on pretrial release, told the court she is hiring an attorney. Her trial is set for March 6, 2026.

Investigators said Gray’s 13-month-old son died in January after being found unresponsive while napping on a couch. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide due to morphine intoxication. A surviving child in the home also tested positive for opioids, police said.

BABY FOUND UNRESPONSIVE

Around 5:30 p.m. Jan. 8, medics were called to an apartment in the 5900 block of Franklin Avenue in Gwynn Oak for a child in cardiac arrest. Officers found the baby unresponsive on a bed. He was taken to St. Agnes Hospital and pronounced dead.

Gray told police the boy had no health problems and had acted normally that day. She said she put him down for a nap on a couch about 3 p.m. and called 911 two hours later when she found him unresponsive. She moved him to a bed and attempted CPR while waiting for medics, according to charging documents.

An officer described the apartment as “dirty and unkept,” smelling of urine, with trash bags piled by the door and no cushions on the couch where the baby had slept.

AUTOPSY AND CHARGES

A preliminary toxicology test in January found drugs in the child’s system, the report said. The final report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in May ruled the death a homicide due to a morphine intoxication, according to charging documents.

Investigators also reviewed Gray’s medical records from Mercy Hospital, where she gave birth. Court documents say she tested positive then for cannabinoids and buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid.

Gray has three other children, two who are school-aged and a toddler.

A notation on the charging documents indicated another child in the home was tested for drugs, stating:
“𝘋𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 [𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮’𝘴] 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 [𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥] 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. [𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥]’𝘴 𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝟢𝟣/𝟣𝟢/𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.”