Parents arrested in meth overdose death of 4-month-old girl

The parents of an infant girl who died of a drug overdose in August have been arrested on murder charges.

Evangelina Salomon, 20, and Brian Carroll, 23, are each charged with second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in substantial bodily harm, according to court records.

Officers were called Aug. 25 to University Medical Center after Salomon and her boyfriend, Carroll, brought their daughter to the hospital, where she died hours later, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The Clark County coroner’s office identified the baby as Leilani Salomon, who was 4 months old when she died of drug toxicity from methamphetamine.

Salomon and Carroll told police they regularly used meth, but the couple said they smoked and used needles in the bathroom while the baby was in another room to keep her away from the drug.

The couple told police they were not surprised that Leilani’s blood showed meth traces.

“When asked how (Leilani) would have been in contact with the drug, he said it could’ve been from him touching and using methamphetamine with his hands and it being on his fingers when he would hold and carry (Leilani),” police wrote in the report. “He described his and Evangelina’s drug use around (Leilani) as careless and expressed remorse for his actions.”

Salomon said the pair smoked about four times a week, beginning right after Leilani was born.

Salomon was arrested Jan. 26, Carroll was arrested Feb. 1, and both were released on $20,000 bail, according to court records. They are scheduled to appear in court Feb. 16.

Leilani was the youngest of 13 children who died of drug overdoses in 2020, according to coroner data.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.