MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – The Macomb County couple charged with the murder of their 18-month-old daughter were arraigned Monday and denied bond by a judge.
READ: Macomb County prosecutor charges parents in Christmas Day murder of 18-month-old
Both 28-year-old Antonio Floyd and 27-year-old Shantanice Barksdale faced a judge Monday in connection to the death of their daughter, Ava Floyd.
On Christmas morning Floyd and Barksdale were at their home in Clinton Township along with their three children.
That afternoon they took the children to their grandmother's home in Warren. A short time later, the toddler stopped breathing. She died at a local hospital.
Detectives say the toddler had an extraordinary level of the narcotic fentanyl in her system. It wasn’t until Thursday, when police executed a search warrant at the grandmother’s home in Warren and the parents’ home in Clinton Township.
Police found evidence showing the parents were manufacturing and distributing narcotics inside their home. Officers also believe they were involved in drug trafficking and were using their Clinton Township home to process and package fentanyl to sell.
The couple has been charged with second-degree murder, delivering and manufacturing of controlled substances, manslaughter, second-degree child abuse and felony firearm.
Floyd, a convicted felon, is also being charged with additional counts of felon in possession of a weapon and felony firearm.