Latest news with #Weiher
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Couple allegedly bought more Narcan instead of calling 911 in toddler's suspected overdose death: Docs
Note: Information from court documents below provide details into a toddler's death from alleged neglect. Discretion is advised. HOMER GLEN, Ill. (WGN) — A Illinois couple bought more Narcan via Uber for their 2-year-old, who was going through a suspected deadly drug overdose at the time, instead of calling 911, court documents reveal. First-degree murder charges were announced Monday night for Edward Weiher, 49, and his fiancé, Alexa Balen, 28, after they initially faced multiple neglect charges last November. Police in Will County were called to the home of Weiher and Balen just after 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, for reports of an unresponsive child and a possible carbon monoxide leak. They found Weiher, who owns the home, performing chest compressions on two-year-old Trinity Balen-Weiher on an ottoman in the living room when they arrived. Balen and her 6-year-old daughter were also inside the home. Drug overdoses see major decline — except in these 2 states Police, upon entering, alleged the large residence was trashed with garbage, food, blood and feces on the floor, court documents reveal. Police also observed a white substance, suspected to be cocaine and heroin, spread throughout the countertops and tables. Additionally, several pieces of burnt tin foil were found on the ground, believed to be used for heroin. Suspected heroin was also found on a mattress in the living room where Trinity and the rest of the family slept that night, according to authorities. Weiher, speaking with the police who arrived at the scene, allegedly claimed his handheld meter registered a reading of natural carbon monoxide at 6,000 parts per million, prompting him to turn off the boiler and open the windows. Levels that high would cause residents to be unconscious and possibly die within 20 minutes, according to multiple studies. A utility company was called to the scene as police continued to investigate. A small gas leak was found in the basement, but it was not determined to be a lethal amount. Balen was interviewed by detectives first at the scene. She admitted to police that she and Weiher used heroin on a regular basis after initially claiming Trinity stopped breathing due to suspected high levels of carbon monoxide. Balen said she wanted to call 911 after the couple failed to correctly administer a dose of Narcan, a drug that can reverses the effects of an opioid overdose as it's happening, to Trinity. She claimed that Weiher said they should not call 911, so they ordered more Narcan through Uber, according to court documents. The Narcan did not revive Trinity and she stopped breathing, documents stated. Police responded after the incident was reported to 911 operators. Trinity was transported to the hospital by authorities, where she died. Child hurt in car crash at Illinois after-school camp dies, raising death toll to 5 Weiher, after initially claiming Trinity was unconscious due to carbon monoxide poisoning, ultimately told authorities the same story as Balen. Police later recovered approximately nine grams of suspected heroin in various locations throughout the home that were allegedly in 'reaching distance' of Trinity. A small bag of 21 pills, commonly known as Xanax, were also recovered. Balen's 6-year-old daughter was taken into the custody of DCFS. Police said she had fentanyl and cocaine in her system, tests revealed. Weiher and Balen were taken into custody and faced initial charges of child endangerment, child endangerment resulting in death, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Detectives conducted a forensic investigation of Balen's phone and determined that 911 was not called for approximately 3 hours and 41 minutes into Trinity's suspected overdose. Additionally, Balen is accused of searching 'how to stop an od' and 'how to stop an od without naloxone' on her phone during the incident. The digital receipt of the Uber purchase of Narcan was also recovered. A pathologist concluded that Trinity 'would have survived' if EMS was activated when Trinity became symptomatic of an overdose, documents alleged. A first-degree murder indictment was filed on May 22 for both Weiher and Balen. They were not rebooked on the charge of first-degree murder and a judge granted them pre-trial release. In the state's motion to deny pre-trial release, it cited that Weiher and Balen could be a risk to leave the area due to 'significant funds,' claiming Weiher made $750,000 in 2021, court documents state. The couple's defense attorney told Nexstar's WGN the funds are in a trust and Weiher and Balen showed up to their prior two court dates knowing detention was a possibility. Their next court date is scheduled for June 27. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Health
- The Hill
Couple allegedly bought more Narcan instead of calling 911 in toddler's suspected overdose death: Docs
Note: Information from court documents below provide details into a toddler's death from alleged neglect. Discretion is advised. HOMER GLEN, Ill. (WGN) — A Illinois couple bought more Narcan via Uber for their 2-year-old, who was going through a suspected deadly drug overdose at the time, instead of calling 911, court documents reveal. First-degree murder charges were announced Monday night for Edward Weiher, 49, and his fiancé, Alexa Balen, 28, after they initially faced multiple neglect charges last November. Police in Will County were called to the home of Weiher and Balen just after 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, for reports of an unresponsive child and a possible carbon monoxide leak. They found Weiher, who owns the home, performing chest compressions on two-year-old Trinity Balen-Weiher on an ottoman in the living room when they arrived. Balen and her 6-year-old daughter were also inside the home. Police, upon entering, alleged the large residence was trashed with garbage, food, blood and feces on the floor, court documents reveal. Police also observed a white substance, suspected to be cocaine and heroin, spread throughout the countertops and tables. Additionally, several pieces of burnt tin foil were found on the ground, believed to be used for heroin. Suspected heroin was also found on a mattress in the living room where Trinity and the rest of the family slept that night, according to authorities. Weiher, speaking with the police who arrived at the scene, allegedly claimed his handheld meter registered a reading of natural carbon monoxide at 6,000 parts per million, prompting him to turn off the boiler and open the windows. Levels that high would cause residents to be unconscious and possibly die within 20 minutes, according to multiple studies. A utility company was called to the scene as police continued to investigate. A small gas leak was found in the basement, but it was not determined to be a lethal amount. Balen was interviewed by detectives first at the scene. She admitted to police that she and Weiher used heroin on a regular basis after initially claiming Trinity stopped breathing due to suspected high levels of carbon monoxide. Balen said she wanted to call 911 after the couple failed to correctly administer a dose of Narcan, a drug that can reverses the effects of an opioid overdose as it's happening, to Trinity. She claimed that Weiher said they should not call 911, so they ordered more Narcan through Uber, according to court documents. The Narcan did not revive Trinity and she stopped breathing, documents stated. Police responded after the incident was reported to 911 operators. Trinity was transported to the hospital by authorities, where she died. Weiher, after initially claiming Trinity was unconscious due to carbon monoxide poisoning, ultimately told authorities the same story as Balen. Police later recovered approximately nine grams of suspected heroin in various locations throughout the home that were allegedly in 'reaching distance' of Trinity. A small bag of 21 pills, commonly known as Xanax, were also recovered. Balen's 6-year-old daughter was taken into the custody of DCFS. Police said she had fentanyl and cocaine in her system, tests revealed. Weiher and Balen were taken into custody and faced initial charges of child endangerment, child endangerment resulting in death, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Detectives conducted a forensic investigation of Balen's phone and determined that 911 was not called for approximately 3 hours and 41 minutes into Trinity's suspected overdose. Additionally, Balen is accused of searching 'how to stop an od' and 'how to stop an od without naloxone' on her phone during the incident. The digital receipt of the Uber purchase of Narcan was also recovered. A pathologist concluded that Trinity 'would have survived' if EMS was activated when Trinity became symptomatic of an overdose, documents alleged. A first-degree murder indictment was filed on May 22 for both Weiher and Balen. They were not rebooked on the charge of first-degree murder and a judge granted them pre-trial release. In the state's motion to deny pre-trial release, it cited that Weiher and Balen could be a risk to leave the area due to 'significant funds,' claiming Weiher made $750,000 in 2021, court documents state. The couple's defense attorney told Nexstar's WGN the funds are in a trust and Weiher and Balen showed up to their prior two court dates knowing detention was a possibility. Their next court date is scheduled for June 27.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Docs: Suburban couple bought more Narcan instead of calling 911 in toddler's suspected deadly overdose
Note: Information from court documents below provide details into a toddler's death from alleged neglect. Discretion is advised. HOMER GLEN, Ill. — A Homer Glen couple bought more Narcan via Uber for their 2-year-old, who was going through a suspected deadly drug overdose at the time, instead of calling 911, court documents reveal. First-degree murder charges were announced Monday night for Edward Weiher, 49, and his fiancé, Alexa Balen, 28, after they were initially faced multiple neglect charges last November. Police in Will County were called to the home Weiher and Balen, located in the 2200 block of West Thorn Apple Drive, just after 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, for reports of an unresponsive child and a possible carbon monoxide leak. They found Weiher, who owns the home, performing chest compressions on two-year-old Trinity Balen-Weiher on an ottoman in the living room when they arrived. Balen and her six-year-old daughter were also inside the home. Police observed the large residence trashed with various items covering the floor, court documents reveal. The entire floor was covered with garbage, food, urine and feces, authorities allege. Police also observed a white substance, suspected to be cocaine and heroin, spread throughout the countertops and tables. Additionally, several pieces of burnt tin foil were on the found on the ground believed to be from doing heroin. Suspected heroin was found on a mattress in the living room where Trinity and the rest of the family slept that night, according to authorities. When police initially arrived, Weiher claimed his handheld meter registered a reading of natural carbon monoxide at 6,000 parts per million, prompting him to turn off the boiler and open the windows. Levels that high would cause residents to be unconscious and possibly die within 20 minutes, according to multiple studies. A utility company was called to the scene as police continued to investigate. The company said that service was not working Sept. 30 through Nov. 2 due to non-payment, but was recently restored. A small gas leak was found in the basement, but it was not determined to be a lethal amount. Balen was interviewed by detectives first at the scene. She admitted to police that she and Weiher use heroin on a regular basis after initially claiming Trinity stopped breathing due to suspected high levels of carbon monoxide. Balen said she wanted to call 911 after the couple failed to correctly administer a dose of Narcan to Trinity. Narcan is a drug that typically reverses the effects of an opioid overdose as it's happening. She claimed Weiher said they should not so they ordered more Narcan through Uber, according to court documents. It did not work and Trinity stopped breathing, documents state. 911 was then called. She was transported to the hospital by authorities where she died. Weiher said the same story after initially claiming Trinity was unconscious due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Police recovered approximately nine grams of suspected heroin in various locations throughout the home that were allegedly in 'reaching distance' of Trinity. A small bag of 21 pills, commonly known at Xanax, were also recovered. Balen's daughter, 6, was taken into the custody of DCFS. Her system tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine, according to police. Weiher and Balen were taken into custody and faced initial charges of child endangerment resulting in death, child endangerment and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Detectives conducted a forensic investigation of Balen's phone and determined that 911 was not called for approximately three hours and 41 minutes into Trinity's suspected overdose. Additionally, Balen is accused of searching 'how to stop an od' and 'how to stop an od without naloxone' on her phone during the incident. The digital receipt of the Uber purchase of Narcan was also recovered. A pathologist concluded that Trinity 'would have survived' if EMS was activated when Trinity became symptomatic of an overdose, documents allege. A first-degree murder indictment was filed on May 22 for both Weiher and Balen. They were not rebooked on the charge of first-degree murder and a judge granted them pre-trial release. In the state's motion to deny that, they cited that Weiher and Balen could be a risk to leave the area due to 'significant funds' and claimed he made $750,000 in 2021, court documents state. The couple's next court date is scheduled for June 27. WGN News has contacted the couple's defense attorney and this story will be updated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Homer Glen couple charged with first-degree murder in connection with 2-year-old daughter's death
WILL COUNTY, Ill. — The parents of a two-year-old girl who died under suspicious circumstances inside their Will County home in 2024 have been charged with first-degree murder. Police in Will County were called to the home of 49-year-old Edward Weiher and 28-year-old Alexa Balen, located in the 2200 block of West Thorn Apple Drive, just after 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2024, on reports of an unresponsive child and a possible carbon monoxide leak. When deputies arrived on the scene, they found Weiher, who owns the home, performing chest compressions on two-year-old Trinity Balen-Weiher on an ottoman in the living room. Balen and her six-year-old daughter were also inside the home. During the initial investigation, deputies say they spotted garbage, rotten food, soiled diapers and clothing, medical waste and evidence of significant drug use. Nine grams of heroin were found in the home, within reach of both children, police say. 21 Xanax pills were also on a bedroom floor and multiple doses of Narcan were located near the ottoman where the child was when police arrived. Trinity Balen-Weiher was taken to Silver Cross Hospital, where she died the next day. Homer Township Fire personnel and Nicor Gas confirmed there was no gas leak at the residence. Balen's six-year-old daughter was placed in protective custody and later released to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). According to the Will County Sheriff's Office, both Weiher and Balen made incriminating statements during interviews. They were arrested on initial felony charges and later released. However, an autopsy conducted by the Will County coroner shows new evidence that supports first-degree murder charges. Weiher and Balen appeared in court and were indicted on the new charges Monday. They have been released under pretrial conditions per the Illinois Safe-T Act. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
