A mother accused of murder in the poisoning death of her son pleaded not guilty to the allegations at her arraignment, according to court records.
At her April 22 hearing, Jessica Dominique Darthard was held to answer to six felony charges related to the death of her son, Justin Bulley, and allegations of child abuse against a handful of other children found in the care of Darthard, her father, Jesse Darthard, and an L.A. County-approved caretaker, Secret Rodcliff Daniel.
Darthard’s father also is facing a murder charge. Daniel is facing a half-dozen allegations of child abuse in connection with allegations that fentanyl was found in the children’s system, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. All three have denied the allegations.
The case is being tried by Jon Hatami, a Valencia resident and assistant head deputy of the Family Violence Division, which oversees the division’s Complex Child Abuse Section. It’s been described as a potential landmark prosecution due to the relative lack of legal precedent regarding the prosecution of murders related to fentanyl poisoning. Hatami credited the county Sheriff’s Department with making the case possible.
“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),” Hatami said in a previous statement, after the suspects were held to answer. “We are one step closer to getting justice for baby Justin.”
Jessica Darthard, a Palmdale resident, had a probation violation hearing March 10 regarding an April 2022 DUI conviction in the Santa Clarita Valley. Judge Daviann Mitchell sentenced her to six months in jail with credit for one month of time served.
She remains in custody at the women’s jail in Lynwood, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department custody records available online.
Their case is scheduled for a pretrial conference May 22.
