Local woman charged after newborn’s blood tests positive for fentanyl and meth
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IDAHO FALLS – A 37-year-old woman has been charged after her newborn’s blood test came back positive for fentanyl and meth.
Tina Zornes of Idaho Falls was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor injury to a child after she reportedly gave birth to a premature baby on Aug. 27, 2022.
According to court documents, the baby was one and a half months premature.
Staff at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center tested the umbilical cord and found “benzodiazepines, amphetamine, methamphetamine, THC, and norfentanyl” in the newborn’s system.
Zornes was interviewed by Idaho Falls Police on Sept. 7, 2022. She admitted to officers that she had smoked a “dirty 30,” the street name for illegally-made fentanyl, once a day during the last two months of her pregnancy.
She also told officers that she had smoked meth the night before giving birth and stashed the fentanyl under her bed in her home.
The newborn was kept on a feeding tube until October, when she was released to the custody of another woman. The woman’s relationship to the baby is unclear.
Officers continued to monitor the baby’s condition and were told that the newborn’s bowels were undeveloped, making her “constantly uncomfortable.” The baby also cannot keep food down or lay on her back because she “constantly spits up food.”
The baby’s primary care provider told officers that the underdeveloped bowels are from a combination of Zorne’s drug use and being born prematurely.
A summons was issued for Zornes’ arrest on March 31, 2023, and she is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on April 25.
It is unclear why there was such a long time between the birth of the child and the charges being filed.
If convicted, Zornes could face up to eight years in prison.