Woman arrested after dead child’s blood test came back positive for meth

VAN BUREN, Arkansas – A Van Buren woman has been arrested following an investigation into the death of her child. According to an affidavit, methamphetamine was in the child’s bloodstream when he died on March 30, 2024.

Rachael Dukes was booked into the Crawford County Jail on June 1 on charges of manslaughter and second-degree assault. Bail has not been set.

According to the affidavit, she gave the child a bottle and put him to bed. When she woke up, she noticed the child was no longer breathing, according to police.

The report states that Dukes took the child to the neighbor’s apartment, where they called 911 and began CPR. The child was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators spoke with Duke about the events leading up to his death. She reportedly showed police how she fed her child, put him to bed, and what she did when she woke up. During this interaction, the medical examiner collected the child’s bottle and the bedding he slept in for examination.

According to the affidavit, a toxicology report showed the child had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system. Dukes told police she did not know how the meth got into the child’s body. However, crime lab reports showed the bottle the child was fed from tested positive for methamphetamine.

Dukes later told police she “had some meth in her hand and it accidentally fell into the bottle” before giving it to him, the affidavit states.

According to the report, police searched her phone and found several instances of drug use and purchases by Dukes. She allegedly admitted to using and purchasing meth while her son was still alive.

“There were also messages from Dukes mentioning that the children were in the house when the drugs were sold and consumed,” the affidavit states.

An autopsy report also found that the child suffered a non-fatal skull fracture, the affidavit states. Dukes told police that her son fell while she was changing his diaper on the bed.

5NEWS has reached out to Crawford County District Attorney Kevin Holmes regarding Duke’s next court date.

5NEWS will update this story as more information becomes available.

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