Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?

Multiple sources explicitly confirm the child died from a fentanyl overdose. The medical examiner report (Document 4) lists Cause A as "EFFECTS OF FENTANYL." Document 1 quotes the father: "My son had an overdose. He swallowed a piece of fentanyl that was left carelessly around the house." Document 3 states: "An autopsy would confirm that Justin died from exposure to fentanyl."

Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?

Multiple sources describe a failure of supervision. Document 3 (LA Times) reports the DCFS-approved monitor Secret Daniel "had left the home" before the incident. Document 5 states: "Secret left the house and left the children alone when she was supposed to be monitoring them." Meanwhile, the mother was napping after drinking tequila, and the grandfather had fallen asleep while smoking fentanyl. Document 3 quotes the grandfather as saying he "fell asleep around 4 p.m. on the living room couch and awoke two hours later with the glass pipe in his hand, his grandson lying next to him."

Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?

Document 3 (LA Times) describes a prior motor vehicle incident involving Justin: "Six months before he died, Justin was in the back seat, unbuckled, when his mother got in a wreck on the 405 Freeway... Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit." Document 5 corroborates: "Jessica Darthard also got into a drunk driving car crash on the 405 Freeway six months before Justin's death. The boy was unbuckled in the backseat at the time."

Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?

Document 3 (LA Times) states that DCFS "had monitored Justin on and off since his birth, when Darthard tested positive for marijuana." The mother testing positive for marijuana at the time of the child's birth implies prenatal marijuana exposure, though the text does not explicitly state the child was tested or diagnosed with a prenatal exposure condition.

Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?

Document 5 (LA Times) states: "At 17 months old, Justin Bulley should have been safe when he fell asleep on a couch next to his grandfather." Document 3 describes the grandfather falling asleep on the living room couch with a glass fentanyl pipe in his hand, with "his grandson lying next to him." A 17-month-old sleeping on a couch alongside an adult who was actively using fentanyl constitutes an unsafe sleeping environment, though this was not the typical sleep-related danger (suffocation/SIDS) but rather drug exposure during sleep.

Was a biological mother involved in the death?

Jessica Darthard, the biological mother, was present in the home and intoxicated at the time of the death. Document 3 states she "appeared inebriated, with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes" and had fallen asleep "after taking a double shot of Jose Cuervo tequila." Document 5 confirms that "L.A. County prosecutors are pursuing murder charges against Darthard and the boy's mother, arguing they were responsible." The visit at which Justin died was a supervised visit with his mother.

Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?

Secret Daniel, described as "a friend of Justin's mother, Jessica Darthard" in Document 3 (LA Times), was the DCFS-approved monitor for the visit. She left the home before Justin died. Document 5 states: "That monitor, Secret Daniel, is now charged with several counts of child abuse in the same case." Document 2 (Audacy) states: "A DCFS visitation supervisor is there... She doesn't step in and try to save these kids. She doesn't pull these kids out of that house... She's a coward. She runs."

Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)

Jessie Darthard, the maternal grandfather (age 72-73), was directly involved. Document 3 states: "Jessie Darthard, the grandfather, told sheriff's deputies that he had fallen asleep on the couch while smoking fentanyl and awoke to Justin lying next to him, unresponsive." Document 5 reports: "Jesse Darthard admitted to having fentanyl in his pocket when he fell asleep next to his grandson and said the boy 'must have gotten to it.'" He has been charged with murder.

Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?

Document 3 (LA Times) explicitly states: "DCFS had placed Justin and his two older siblings with a foster mother the previous year, after his mother's boyfriend fatally overdosed on fentanyl with the kids at home." Justin was in foster care at the time of the incident and was on a supervised visit with his biological mother when he died. The foster mother confirmed releasing the children to the monitor for the visit.

Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?

Document 3 (LA Times) states: "The child welfare agency had opened four cases involving Darthard since 2012 and had monitored Justin on and off since his birth, when Darthard tested positive for marijuana." Additionally, the children were placed in foster care after the mother's boyfriend overdosed on fentanyl, and there was a DUI incident where Justin was unbuckled in the backseat. Document 5 confirms: "A Times investigation last year found DCFS had opened cases against the boy's mother, Jessica Darthard, four times since 2012."

Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?

Document 5 (LA Times, March 2025) reports: "L.A. County prosecutors are pursuing murder charges against Darthard and the boy's mother." It also states: "That monitor, Secret Daniel, is now charged with several counts of child abuse in the same case." The preliminary hearing was underway at the time of the article.

Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?

Multiple caregivers and parents had prior criminal history predating the fatal incident. Document 3 states grandfather Jessie Darthard "had recently been released from jail" and "On Jan. 22, he was arrested after his ex-girlfriend accused him of raping her with a glass narcotics pipe while they were both high on fentanyl." Document 3 also reports the father Montise Bulley "battled a drug problem that landed him in prison seven times as his three older kids grew up." The mother's DUI crash on the 405 Freeway also predates the death.

Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?

Extensive substance use by parents and caregivers is documented. Document 3 reports the grandfather "told sheriff's deputies that he had fallen asleep on the couch while smoking fentanyl," that he was "addicted to heroin," and that the mother "appeared inebriated, with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes" and had taken "a double shot of Jose Cuervo tequila." The mother's "struggled with substance abuse throughout his short life" is also noted. Document 5 adds that the mother's boyfriend had previously "died of a fentanyl overdose while her children were in the home."

Several substantive systemic issues are detailed across the sources. DCFS policy allowed the mother to choose her own friend, Secret Daniel, as the visitation monitor. Document 3 (LA Times) reveals Daniel was "living in the Lancaster home with Justin's grandfather, Jessie, who had a long history of heavy drug use" — a fact DCFS was unaware of, creating an undisclosed conflict of interest. The foster mother tried to intervene: "When I tried to speak up, nobody wanted to hear it. All they kept saying is, 'She has to have her visit, she has to have her visit'" (Document 3). After Justin's death, DCFS removed the surviving siblings from the foster mother who was attempting to adopt them, accusing her of neglect (Document 3). Five other children in the home also tested positive for fentanyl (Documents 3 and 5). The coroner ruled the death accidental, but prosecutors pursued murder charges — described as only the second time L.A. County has filed murder charges against parents whose drug use caused a child's fatal overdose (Document 5). The father filed a $65 million lawsuit against DCFS (Document 2).