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Detroit 8-year-old died from fentanyl overdose, medical examiner says

8-year-old boy died from fentanyl overdose
Posted at 6:24 PM, Dec 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-05 18:24:41-05

We're learning disturbing new details about the death of an 8-year-old Detroit boy over the summer. 

Jamere Arnold was found unresponsive in his home on Detroit's east side back in July. Initially, it was believed he died from possible alcohol poisoning, but now, the medical examiner says he died from a fentanyl overdose.

Police said the boy's grandmother told them he had alcohol and passed out. Now, the toxicology report says it was actually fentanyl that killed him.

"In a child it would probably take less than what would be considered a pill of aspirin or Tylenol," St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital Medical Director Tony Bonfiglio said.

He said casual skin contact with fentanyl likely would not kill, but it could take only a small amount to be injected or digested.

The medical examiner did say the manner of death was accidental.

Police said it is still an open and active investigation, while Arnold's family couldn't be reached for comment.