All three defendants accused in what could end up being a milestone case in Los Angeles County — a murder prosecution of those responsible for a baby boy’s death from fentanyl — were held to answer to the charges Tuesday.
Judge Denise McLoughlin Bennett held Jessica Dominique Darthard and Jessie Milton Darthard to answer to murder charges in the Feb. 18, 2024, death of 17-month-old Justin Bulley. Their preliminary hearing happened over several days in Department A1 of the Lancaster courthouse.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami, a Valencia resident who heads the Complex Child Abuse Section for the Family Violence Division in the L.A. County DA’s Office.
“This preliminary hearing was the combination of hard work by (L.A. County Sheriff’s Department) Homicide, (Special Victims Bureau), Narcotics Bureau and (the DA’s Office),” he wrote Tuesday in a text message, after the preliminary hearing concluded. “We are one step closer to getting justice for baby Justin.”
Also charged was Secret Rodcliff Daniel, a Department of Child and Family Services-approved monitor, because all five other children under his care in the house tested positive for fentanyl exposure.
The criminal complaint did not state how the baby was able to ingest the drugs.
It also mentioned two counts of corporal injury against a child against Daniel and Jessica Darthard, as well as a charge of lewd acts against a child against Jessica Darthard.
Hatami didn’t know of any case like it, where a grandfather, mother and an approved legal guardian all were being charged in connection with a death related to fentanyl.
He said previously the case was not only about accountability and justice for the victims, but also raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, a deadly opioid that has prompted emergency responses from health and law enforcement departments around the country.
The drug is considered extremely deadly not just for how potent it is, but also how widespread it is due to its cheap manufacturing cost.
The Sheriff’s Department’s Overdose Response Task Force was part of the response for Los Angeles County.
Drug Enforcement Administration officials reported in a fentanyl fact sheet that 42% of illegal pharmaceuticals seized contained at least 2 milligrams of the drug, which could be a lethal dose.
Bail has been set for Jessica Darthard at $2,080,000. Bail for Jessie Darthard was set at $2 million. Bail for Daniel was set at $430,000.
All three remain in custody as of this story’s publication.
The next step for the defendants is for them to file their formal plea to the charges at an April 22 arraignment in Lancaster’s Department A-18.
