Lacey's Spring woman charged after fetuses in box test positive for drugs
May 17—A Lacey's Spring woman was charged Tuesday with two counts of chemical endangerment of a child after toxicology results revealed the presence of drugs in two fetuses she had left in her trailer on ice, according to an investigator's affidavit, marking her second run-in with the law on chemical endangerment charges.
On Dec. 6, an investigator with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office responded to a child death call at Aladdin Trailer Park in Lacey's Spring. The affidavit said the investigator received the call from a captain with the New Hope Police Department who had arrested 32-year-old Mary Denise Soto and she told him she had just given birth that morning to two fetuses at the trailer park.
"According to Mary, the fetuses were deceased and placed in a box cover with a sheet and ice covering them," the affidavit said.
Soto told investigators she had just found out she was over 20 weeks pregnant and, in a subsequent interview, said she had just quit using methamphetamine and had stopped using all narcotics once she found out she was pregnant.
The investigators then met with the Morgan County coroner.
"Both investigators went outside where the truck was kept, unlocked it and retrieved the box where both fetuses were kept," the affidavit said. "Coroner Jeff Chunn was able to extract some of the liquid from inside the amniotic sac for testing."
According to the affidavit, Chunn used a multi-drug screening kit to test fluid from the amniotic sac of the first fetus, and the results came back positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine and cocaine.
On Dec. 17, Chunn submitted blood samples from Soto to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and on Jan. 9, a toxicology report came back positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine. According to the affidavit, Chunn also submitted blood and fluid samples from the fetus to Forensic Sciences on Jan. 9, and on Jan. 30 the toxicology results came back positive for benzoylecgonine — the primary metabolite of cocaine — as well as methamphetamine and amphetamine.
Soto was transported to Morgan County Jail, where she is being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond. She remained in custody on Friday, according to jail records.
Court records show that Soto on Jan. 2 pleaded guilty to four counts of chemical endangerment of children based on an earlier arrest.
According to an affidavit signed by a Morgan County sheriff's investigator, on Feb. 28, 2023, a caseworker from the Department of Human Resources was called to a residence in Lacey's Spring in reference to four juveniles and identified their mother as Soto.
"Mary Soto and the juveniles were screened for narcotics on that date and the samples were tested by LifeLinks, LLC.," the affidavit said. "The test was positive for methamphetamines and amphetamines."
Although Soto was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary, court records indicate she was placed in a Department of Corrections community corrections program. Records show her probation was revoked March 18 by Morgan County Circuit Judge Stephen Brown.
According to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, Soto was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance in January after a traffic stop on U.S. 231 in Lacey's Spring. Soto and another person were stopped and a K-9 indicated the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle they were in.
"After a search of the vehicle, Deputies located two bags, both containing a substance that tested as Methamphetamine, drug Paraphernalia and a firearm that was reported stolen," the Sheriff's Office said.
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
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