A judge has ruled that a trial can proceed against two men who were charged, along with two others, in connection with the August 2023 death of a toddler due to fentanyl exposure.
Four housemates, consisting of two couples, lived together in a San Jose home last summer when 18-month-old Winter Rayo died of a fentanyl overdose. Two of the housemates, 29-year-old Kelly Gene Richardson and 28-year-old Derek Vaughn Rayo, were the girl's parents, while the other couple, 32-year-old Paige Vitale, and 32-year-old Phillip Ortega, were their housemates and alleged drug suppliers.
All four were charged with the child's murder back in April, and as Bay Area News Group reports, attorneys for each have been arguing against the charges throughout the summer before Santa Clara County Judge Deborah Ryan.
Judge Ryan ruled Monday that there was adequate evidence to proceed to trial for Rayo and Ortega, suggesting that both men were materially responsible for Winter's death. Richardson remains charged with murder, but will be tried on a separate timeline, the news group reports.
Vitale, however, will not face a murder charge, but will instead face charges of felony drug possession and misdemeanor child endangerment. The decision came after several weeks of preliminary hearings.
Vitale's attorney, Dana Fite, argued that her client was "tenuously connected to the actual death of Winter Rayo," and thanked the judge for her ruling today.
Last year, Rayo and Richardson became the second couple in California to face murder charges in connection with a fentanyl overdose death of a child. Investigators later concluded, through text messages and other evidence, that the entire household's lax attitude toward drugs and drug use contributed to the toddler's death.
Crime scene photos revealed drugs stored loosely in bins and other containers, and white pills scattered not far from where the child's body was found.
Winter Rayo was found to have 74 nanograms per milliliter of fentanyl in her blood at the time of her death, as well as 30 nanograms per milliliter of methamphetamine. The fentanyl concentration was 25 times the lethal amount for a child of her size, according to a medical examiner.
The child died on August 10, 2023, and Richardson and Rayo reportedly delayed calling 911 for 12 hours. They told investigators that they knew she was dead, and that they wanted to grieve her death before they were separated from her.
As Bay Area News Group reports, lead prosecutor Barbara Cathcart argued in hearings that therre is "no question that Winter’s parents’ extremely reckless use of fentanyl around their daughter is what killed her" and it was likely only a matter of time before she died of drug exposure.
"The fatal irresponsibility of the people around Baby Winter is shocking – and it is criminal," said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement earlier this year. "We will hold accountable anyone whose recklessness ended the life of that poor little girl."
