A 38-year-old woman from Lethbridge is facing charges of criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life in connection with the death of her 13-year-old son.
Officers responded to the sudden death of the boy, whose body was found along the 1600 block of Mayor Magrath Drive S. on Boxing Day.
Lethbridge police allege the boy and his mother, Blanche Isobel Irene Fick, were taking drugs around 5 p.m. on Christmas Day when he overdosed at a home on the south side of the city.
A man whom police refer to as an acquaintance tried to save the boy’s life, officers say, and a call to 911 was made. However, when first responders got to the home, police allege Fick hid the boy and lied about where he was to avoid arrest because he had previously been reported missing.
Investigators say later that evening Fick and her son left the home and walked to a nearby business. Evidence gathered pointed to the boy being in medical distress, police say, and surveillance footage showed the two spending the night on the street.
The boy never moved from the ground and at no time were paramedics called, Lethbridge police say.
At around 2 p.m. the next day, investigators say Fick reported she had found her son dead. The boy’s cause of death is still unclear, however toxicology results are pending.
Fick is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.