A couple from Auburn has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter for the May 29 death of their 1-year-old son, resulting from fentanyl and methamphetamine intoxication.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Auburn residents Joseph A. Knoerr, 35, and Megan L. Smith, 35, with manslaughter in the first degree for the May 29 intoxication-death of Mikah L. Knoerr, 1.
The King County Medical Examiner’s autopsy of the boy, conducted on May 30, found the boy died as a result of “acute combined fentanyl, carfentanil, and methamphetamine intoxication.”
The medical examiner’s office located a “small rubber tube” in the boy’s intestinal system.
“It was unknown what the tube was but appeared to be consistent with paraphernalia,” stated the affidavit of probable cause.
According to documents, Auburn police and first responders were dispatched at 7:32 a.m. May 29 to a CPR call at an apartment complex unit in the 12700 block of Southeast 312th Street.
Police met Knoerr at the entrance of the third story apartment unit, and found Smith within the unit performing CPR rescue breaths into the 1-year-old boy. A sergeant attempted to perform life-saving measures on the boy, “however, based on his observations, he believed that [the boy] had been deceased for an extended period of time,” according to documents.
The Valley Regional Fire Authority pronounced Mikah as deceased at approximately 7:42 a.m.
According to the Auburn Police Department, authorities placed the couple’s 5-year-old son into protective custody.
An investigation of the incident found Smith held concerns regarding Mikah interacting with drug paraphernalia after observing dilation of his pupils, according to prosecutorial documents. She texted a request to her husband and the individual supplying the drugs to be careful after.
According to the department, detectives arrested Smith and Knoerr and booked the two into the King County Jail on Sept. 11.
The King County Superior Court set bail for Smith and Knoerr at $2 million following the filing of a charge of manslaughter in the first degree against both.
Both Smith and Knoerr pleaded not guilty to the charges at arraignment hearings at the Maleng Regional Justice Center on Sept. 26.
Smith’s defense motioned for a reduction in her bail, with Judge Johanna Bender, overseeing her arraignment, granting and lowering Smith’s bail to $500,000, with a condition for electronic home detention in the event Smith meets bail.
The court maintained the bail set at Knoerr’s first appearance hearing at $2 million.
The court both scheduled Smith’s and Knoerr’s trials for Nov. 18, 2024.
