It’s heartbreaking to think about the number of children that are living in unsafe environments. But it’s our duty to protect children and ensure they have a happy and loving upbringing.
Tragically, that wasn’t the case for Sophia Larkson from Rifle, Colorado. The 5-year-old girl was living with her mom who was a drug addict.
One night Sophia woke up thirsty and took a drink from a bottle she thought contained water. According to court documents the bottle was used by her mom as a bong.
Five-year-old Sophia died from crystal meth poisoning after drinking water from the a bottle. It’s thought her mother Stephanie Alvarado had been using as a pipe for crystal meth, Daily Mail reports.
Sophia noticed that the water tasted different and spat some of it out saying “yucky.”
On the night of Sophia’s death her mom Stephanie, who had lost her job at a dental office due to her drug use, had been smoking crystal meth at the house with two of her cousins, Daily Mail reported.
After Sophia took a sip out of the bottle she began hallucinating. According to the Daily Mail court documents allege she wasn’t immediately taken to the hospital and instead the adults around her started praying and reading passages out of the bible.
When the girl collapsed, her mom and the cousins took Sophia to a relative’s house, where there was an oxygen machine. They thought it might help revive the little girl, before finally taking her to a hospital.
But eventually the little girl was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead. She was found to have “very, very high” levels of methamphetamine in her blood.
“If they would have taken her when they saw my daughter drank that, she may have been a little slow and not right in the head — but my daughter would still be here with me today,” said Alec Larson, the child’s father, told KDVR.
The mom and her two cousins were arrested and charged with child abuse resulting in death, possession of a controlled substance and reckless endangerment.
Now all three could face years in prison.
“I know I miss her of every second, every day,” Alec Larson said and insisted he will never forgive his ex-girlfriend or her cousins for the death of his daughter. “It’s changed me in a way that scares me.”
Such a tragedy for a little girl with her whole life ahead of her.
Rest in peace Sophia – may you walk in the highest heaven little angel!
