Mother accused of giving baby methadone overdose

Police: Daughter ingested methadone

JANESVILLE, Wis. — A Beloit woman has been arrested on reckless homicide charges connected to the death of her daughter back in December.

Toxicology tests show that 13-month-old K’myah Strommen died from an overdose of methadone.

Tallie Strommen, 23, told Janesville detectives she allegedly gave her daughter a portion of a methadone pill back on Dec. 26 at a residence on North Atwood Avenue in Janesville.

Lt. Keith Lawver with the Beloit Police Department said the baby died overnight, and Strommen found the baby and called 911 at 9:30 a.m.

According to the criminal complaint the judge read at the court appearance Wednesday, Strommen tried to get the baby to go to sleep by biting a piece of a methadone tablet off and giving it to the baby.

Strommen’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her oldest daughter, Chad Edl, said this isn’t at all like the woman he knows.

“She wouldn’t try to intentionally hurt somebody. I know what she did is totally wrong, but when I first heard it, it was a shock,” Edl said. “She’s trying to do the best she can with three kids. I would never expect her to do nothing like this.”

Strommen had been staying at the apartment they were in for one night, and has no stable address, Lawver said.

Strommen did admit to giving the baby methadone, Lawver said. Police are currently looking into the source of the methadone since Strommen did not have a prescription for it.

“We’re going to continue to look for and speak with anyone who may have potential information about this case — interview any witnesses that we have,as well as try to track down the source of the methadone,” Lawver said.

Cash bond for Strommen has been set at $20,000 cash, and she cannot have contact with minors or any of her children unless authorized by Child Protective Services. Her next court appearance is set for Feb. 21.