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Frances Caso was initially jailed on various child endangerment and drug possession charges after onetime child model Trinity Caso Perez overdosed on May 25.
Further investigation led to the more serious charge, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday, May 31.
Fort Lee police responding to a 3:34 p.m. call last Saturday found the lifeless child at Caso's Maple Street home.
The youngster was pronounced dead soon after at Hackensack University Medical Center, Musella said.
“During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Frances Caso and three other juveniles were also present in the residence around the time of the suspected overdose,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutor’s detectives armed with a search warrant found various illegal drugs and “paraphernalia used to ingest controlled dangerous substances,” he said, without elaborating.
Musella also didn't explain the circumstances under which Trinity ingested the unidentified drug or drugs.
Aggravated manslaughter can be charged in New Jersey when authorities believe the defendant recklessly caused another person's death while showing extreme disregard or indifference to human life.
Caso has remained held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.
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ORIGINAL STORY: A 48-year-old Fort Lee woman’s illegal drugs killed her 12-year-old daughter, authorities said.
Frances Caso was jailed on various child endangerment and drug possession charges after onetime child model Trinity Caso Perez overdosed.
Fort Lee police responding to a 3:34 p.m. call Saturday, May 25, found the lifeless child at Caso's Maple Street home, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
The youngster was pronounced dead soon after at Hackensack University Medical Center, he said.
“During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Frances Caso and three other juveniles were also present in the residence around the time of the suspected overdose,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutor’s detectives armed with a search warrant found various illegal drugs, he said, without elaborating.
The investigators conducted a joint investigation with Fort Lee into “the death of the child and the related drug activity,” Musella said.
Caso, meanwhile, remained held in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
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