In January 2020, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office was called to E. Timberline Ct. in SaddleBrooke regarding an 8-month-old infant, Dominic Aleff, who was not breathing.
Dominic was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, the results of Dominic’s toxicology report revealed he had a massive level of fentanyl in his blood. The report also showed the presence of cocaine metabolites in the child’s body, however cocaine exposure was not the cause of his death.
During the investigation, the child’s mother, 30-year-old Erika Wahab, admitted to using fentanyl pills and cocaine in the house with her boyfriend. She agreed that she and her boyfriend created a dangerous environment for Dominic due to their drug use.
On March 3, 2022, a Grand Jury Warrant was issued through the Pinal County Superior Court against Wahab for Second Degree Murder and Child Abuse. Wahab was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center. She is being held on a $100,000 bond.
“The fentanyl crisis takes hundreds of lives in Arizona each year. To have an innocent child become another victim of this epidemic is beyond heartbreaking,” said Sheriff Mark Lamb. “If you need any more evidence that we have to do something as a country about the flood of illegal drugs coming across our southern border, let this be it.”