DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A mother and father faced charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and possession of fentanyl after the death of their 1-year-old son in Deerfield Beach, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Thirty-year-old Wendy Previl and 33-year-old Shaneka Dean were arrested Monday and were held on bonds totaling more than $100,000.
According to BSO, on Sept. 24, authorities were sent to the 200 block of Southwest Third Street and found Zaire Cenatus in “medical distress.”
The little boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.
BSO spokesperson Carey Codd said after a “lengthy investigation” by detectives, authorities determined Previl and Dean “failed to provide the care, supervision and services necessary” for Zaire.
“As a result of this culpable negligence, the child died from a lethal intoxication of drugs, including fentanyl,” Codd said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has described fentanyl as “the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered.”
Neighbor Alvin Muff lives across the street from the home where deputies say the drug played a role in ending Zaire’s life.
“I guess the lord giveth and the lord taketh,” Muff said.
Muff described little Zaire as a playful child whom he saw often.
“He just play(ed) all the time, loved to play, I used to play with him down there sometimes when his daddy and mama (had) him out there,” he said.
Muff said the charges surprised him, because he always thought Previl and Dean had been “good parents.”
“The world is so wicked and it is not the world, it is the people in the world, you know, they are doing everything to get money,” Muff said.
Dean posted Bond as of Tuesday but had not been released yet, while Previl was in court Tuesday morning.
Previl has a criminal history, including a prior arrest on two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, plus convictions for possession of heroin and fentanyl with intent to distribute.
He also had a battery charge back in 2019.
No one at the Deerfield Beach home came to the door to talk about the charges Previl and Dean now face. Later, a woman drove away as Local 10 News approached.
Local 10 News also stopped by a Pompano Beach address listed for Previl. Residents who answered the door said he “didn’t stay there” and had nothing to say about the charges.