Girl who survived abuse dies of accidental drug overdose
Eds: CORRECTS typo in overline.
RED WING, Minn. (AP) — A Red Wing girl who survived a brutal assault by her father three years ago, only to die earlier this year at a foster home, died of an accidental drug overdose following a tonsillectomy, officials said.
Ty’Shay Staten died of a codeine overdose in central Minnesota’s Todd County on Jan. 6, two days after having the surgery at a Long Prairie hospital. According to a death certificate, which was made public after a Todd County Sheriff’s Office investigation, elevated levels of codeine and morphine were found in the girl’s body.
On March 29, 2005, Ty’Shay was severely injured when her father, Timothy Staten, hurled the 2-year-old girl down a flight of stairs after shaking her at his Red Wing home. She suffered a skull fracture and remained in critical condition for several days at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester. But she survived and eventually was able to lead a basically normal life, playing, talking and walking.
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"It’s just not fair," Red Wing police officer Katie Quinn said of the girl’s death. "She didn’t deserve what happened."
Timothy Staten remains imprisoned at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Moose Lake after being convicted of attempted murder. He is slated for release in 2016, according to the agency’s Web site. Both he and Ty’Shay’s biological mother had their parental rights terminated by the courts.
"It was just kind of a miraculous recovery she made from the original injury," Assistant Goodhue County Attorney Carol Lee said.
Lee said medical examiners indicated that the girl’s body failed to metabolize the medications she received after the tonsillectomy. The Todd County probe revealed no evidence of foul play.
Citing privacy rules, officials would not elaborate on the autopsy results. Todd County Attorney Chuck Rasmussen said an investigation into Ty’Shay’s death didn’t delve into the role her pre-existing medical conditions may have played.
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Information from: Red Wing Republican Eagle, http://www.republican-eagle.com
