CONCORD, N.H. – Two women face charges after one allegedly injected the other –who was in labor at the time – with drugs last September, according to WMUR.
New Hampshire police say Felicia Farruggia, 29, asked Rhianna Frenette, 37, to inject her with heroin or meth to ease the pain of child birth. Farruggia wept in court Wednesday while being charged with felony reckless conduct.
Frenette faces one misdemeanor and one felony count of reckless conduct.
Prosecutors say six months ago Farruggia was going into labor while the pair, along with Farruggia’s boyfriend, were at a New Hampshire house known for drug activity.
“You have two people that are clearly using narcotics, and one is demanding narcotics to be injected into her, preferably heroin or meth,” Concord Police Lieutenant Sean Ford told WMUR. “She didn’t really care what.”
Frenette is accused of injecting her with a brown substance before Farruggia’s boyfriend called 911.
“This case is just, honestly, absolutely appalling in my mind,” Ford said. “No one died, but the risk to that child and to the mother … this stuff is just getting out of control.”
Farruggia gave birth while entering the ambulance and the baby arrived at the hospital in stable condition, but was breathing rapidly. The child’s urine tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine, according to authorities.
Farruggia now has six children, according to WMUR, all of whom are being cared for by the state.
Bail was set at $15,000 for Farruggia, whose next court date is March 21. Frenette’s bail was set at $25,000.
