‘My baby is dead.' Santa Cruz mother never called 911 for Baby Z, court documents show

Yahoo

30-04-2025

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) — A Santa Cruz County mother who is charged with murdering her 1-year-old baby never called 911 after she found her daughter's lifeless body in 2024, according to court records filed by prosecutors.
Korisa Lynn Woll, 39, of Scotts Valley, is being held in jail without bail. Her 20-month-old baby was poisoned by a deadly dose of fentanyl in Santa Cruz four months after the baby's father fatally overdosed on the same drug, court records state.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin in June to determine if investigators have enough evidence for the mother to stand trial. She has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including murder, drug dealing, child abuse, and destroying evidence.
Woll's baby is referred to as 'Baby Z' in court documents filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors described grim circumstances surrounding Baby Z's death.
Baby Z was last seen alive at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, 2024 inside a home at Casa Azul, located at 801 River St. 'Casa Azul is a well known drug sales location,' assistant district attorney Kristal Salcido wrote in court documents.
Casa Azul is a Project Homekey site funded by the state for providing chronically homeless people with permanent supportive housing. Casa Azul opened in 2023, is divided into several 'apartments' for residents, and is operated by Housing Matters, according to the nonprofit organization's website.
The Casa Azul apartment were Baby Z died was the home of Woll's friend, Salcido wrote. The friend allowed Woll, her 4-year-old son, and Baby Z to spend two nights in his home. On the night of July 27, 2024, the 4-year-old boy heard his sister struggling to breathe in the bedroom and saw her vomiting, investigators said.
'He went to wake his mother up in the living room, but she did not respond,' court documents state. In the morning, Woll walked into the bedroom, found Baby Z, and screamed, 'My baby is dead,' Salcido wrote.
'They then tried to give the baby Narcan and mouth-to-mouth (CPR). They did not call 911. It is believed the baby was dead for approximately 9-11 hours before being brought by (Woll) to Dominican Hospital at 1:37 p.m. on Sunday (July 28),' Salcido wrote.
Woll carried the baby's body to the hospital emergency room's front entrance, placed her on a wheelchair, told a security guard that her daughter had died, and walked away, court documents state.
Several minutes later, Woll returned to the ER and Baby Z was declared deceased by hospital workers. 'She indicated she thought the baby had overdosed on something the child picked up,' Salcido wrote.
Santa Cruz Police Department officers were called to the hospital and arrested the mother.
An autopsy toxicology report found that Baby Z had 22 ng/ml of fentanyl in her system. A fatal dose for an adult is between 7-10 ng/ml.
Baby Z was born inside a hospital's emergency room in Modoc, Calif. Her mother was a longtime methamphetamine user and a suspected fentanyl dealer, according to prosecutors. Woll left the hospital with her newborn 'against medical advice,' prosecutors wrote.
Baby Z's father, Robert Tillman, was also a methamphetamine user, according to prosecutors.
While the couple was living in Tennessee with their four children, Tillman and Woll had several cases opened against them by child protective services agencies.
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When Baby Z was four months old, Woll took the screaming infant to a Tennessee hospital, blamed the infant's distress on her 7-year-old brother, and accused the brother of dropping the baby. Court records state, 'Doctors reported it to the department of children family services. X-Rays revealed the child had a fracture on her (arm). Both parents refused to allow (their) other children to be interviewed by department of child services or police.'
In 2023, Tillman and Woll moved from Tennessee to Santa Cruz, California, with Baby Z, their 16-year-old daughter, 8-year-old son, and 4-year-old son. They were living in a home at 402 Lindon Street when Tillman allegedly punched and strangled his 8-year-old son.
Tillman was charged with felony child abuse, and over the objections of prosecutors, a judge released him from custody on April 4, 2024.
On the same day that he was released from jail, Tillman returned to his family's home and died from a fentanyl overdose.
The home at 402 Lindon Street was owned by a man who had offered the family a place to stay. The resident told investigators that he regularly used fentanyl and other drugs with Woll and Tillman, including the day that Tillman fatally overdosed. The resident said he was able to revive Woll with Narcan, but was unable to revive Tillman.
'The children were present in the home at the time of the death. SCPD called Santa Cruz County Department of Children Family Services. Despite multiple reports of abuse and neglect, both from police and the State of Tennessee, Santa Cruz DCFS did not open any case involving (Woll) either before or after Robert Tillman's death,' assistant district attorney Salcido wrote.
After Tillman died in April 2024, Woll moved out of 402 Linden Street, and moved into her parents' Scotts Valley house, records state. 'Their home in Scotts Valley is spacious and safe, and there was plenty of room for the children. Her parents were very supportive of her living in their home, but had concerns about her sobriety and wanted her to get a job. She left for days at a time with all three children and they did not know where she was,' Salcido wrote.
On July 16, 2024, Woll suddenly left the Scotts Valley house with Baby Z and her 4-year-old son. She returned to the home where Tillman died. 'The children were left inside the bedroom for most of the day while (adults) did drugs in the living room,' court documents state. On July 25, 2024, the resident allegedly ordered Tillman to leave his house because he was concerned that she neglected her children.
The mother stayed with Baby Z and her young son at Casa Azul on July 26 and July 27. Baby Z was declared deceased on July 28.
Woll's next court appearance of scheduled for June 18. Her preliminary hearing is slated to begin on June 23 with Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy presiding. She is represented by public defender Allen Cave.
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