Pierce County boy, 5, died from fentanyl toxicity. His mother has been charged
A Pierce County mother has been arrested after her 5-year-old son died from fentanyl toxicity in March.
Jordan Elizabeth Shank, 32, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter for her child’s death, which might have been from her supply of fentanyl. Pierce County deputies took her into custody Saturday on an arrest warrant, court records show.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the boy as Brentlee Lawrence, according to a news release.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Shank’s behalf during her arraignment Monday afternoon. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Jerry Costello set bail at $750,000.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Dalton Smith said the home where the child died had no running water and “was in complete disrepair.” He said Shank admitted to using fentanyl when she was pregnant with Brentlee.
Smith said Shank’s mother relayed a message that if her daughter was released from jail, it would be a “death sentence for her” because of her alleged drug use.
In an emotional statement to the court, the boy’s aunt, Cassandra Parsons, said the child’s death was preventable.
“He had other places that he could have been that were safe, that had no drugs in the [household],” she said.
Charging details
Deputies were dispatched on March 13 at 3:59 a.m. to the 14900 block of 66th Avenue Court East for a medical-aid call. Shank told deputies she woke up to find the child vomiting and not breathing. In a different statement, she told detectives her boyfriend woke her up and asked about the child, according to charging documents.
Central Pierce Fire & Rescue personnel were at the home and trying to revive the child. The child was pronounced dead at 4:33 a.m.
When detectives tried to interview Shank later that morning, she was asleep on some stairs. A detective noted she potentially was tired from alleged drug use since it was unusual she was sleeping soon after her child died, documents show.
Shank allegedly admitted to detectives that she and her boyfriend, who is also the child’s father, used fentanyl. She said she used the drug up to two times a day and did not smoke around her son, documents show. She denied using fentanyl when she went to bed with the child, claiming it was not possible he took the drugs.
Detectives searched the home and found drug paraphernalia and two plastic bags that were later confirmed to contain methamphetamine. In the child’s room, detectives allegedly found two pieces of foil with brown substance on them and a glass pipe that might have been used to ingest drugs, documents show.
A records check on Shank showed CPS reports from when she left her son unattended twice, according to court documents.
During an autopsy, the medical examiner reportedly found contusions on the boy’s body, but no traumatic injuries, documents show. The WA State Toxicology Lab confirmed there was fentanyl in the child’s blood. The medical examiner determined the child died from acute fentanyl toxicity.
Shank was arrested after the toxicology test came in. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, residents of the home denied she was there. She eventually came out and surrendered.
Shank has no criminal convictions, according to court documents.
‘He deserved to grow up’
Another of Brentlee’s aunts, Kelsey Osborne, said when she learned of the child’s death she fell to the ground.
“[Shank] didn’t tell any of her family that he passed away. She tried to conceal that part,” Osborne told The News Tribune via a phone interview.
Osborne said when the boy was 2 weeks old, she and his other aunt had him in their care.
“I just came in and I took him. I said, ‘You’re using and I’m getting him out of here,’ and we got [Child Protective Services] involved,” she said.
Osborne said CPS returned the boy to his father’s custody.
WA State Department of Children, Youth & Families spokesperson Nancy Gutierrez declined to respond to The News Tribune’s questions regarding Brentlee’s case.
“Due to privacy law, we cannot comment on case-specific details. Child welfare records held by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families are confidential under federal and state law, 42.U.S.C. §5106a (b)(2)(A) and RCW 13.50.100,” Gutierrez said via email.
Osborne said she does not want to see Shank get out of jail and hopes to see justice for her nephew.
“He deserved to grow up, and he deserved to experience all the beautiful things life has to offer,” she said. “Brentlee was not a child who was not very loved — he was a child that the system failed.”
Osborne said the boy was never in a bad mood.
“He would always try to make people laugh,” she said. “He was just a silly, happy little boy.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 8:38 AM.
