By Nikie Mayo
Anderson Independent Mail
PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. — A Pickens County grandmother was convicted of homicide by child abuse this week for giving her 13-month old grandson a lethal dose of oxycodone in his sippy cup.
Angela Brewer, 46, was convicted by a jury Thursday and sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to a statement issued Friday by the 13th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Brewer was arrested a week before Christmas nearly three years ago. Her grandson, Brentley Kolbin Lane Lusk, died Oct. 17, 2014.
Deputies responded to Brewer’s home in Pickens and found that the baby was not breathing, according to a 2014 press release from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office. A family member was performing CPR on the baby, whom the family called Kolbin.
Kolbin was rushed to Cannon Memorial Hospital in Pickens, where he was pronounced dead
As part of its investigation, the Sheriff’s Office submitted several items to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for forensic testing, according to Chief Deputy Creed Hashe.
Results from those tests showed that Kolbin had ingested a fatal dose of the prescription drug oxycodone. The drug is a narcotic that is used to treat moderate to severe pain.
According to an arrest warrant, Brewer placed oxycodone in Kolbin’s cup and then gave the cup to the baby.
Brewer was the sole caregiver for her grandson on the day he died.
Copyright 2017 Anderson Independent Mail