Fentanyl use cause of death for couple found dead in hotel with infant

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – A Kent County couple discovered dead in a hotel room with their infant daughter died accidentally from the use of fentanyl and a synthetic opioid five times stronger than heroin, according to police.

It’s believed that Jessica Bramer and Christian Reed were dead for a week before their bodies were discovered last month inside the Rodeway Inn in Whitehall, according to a news release from the Michigan State Police Rockford Post.

“The couple’s 6-month-old daughter … was also found in the hotel room but miraculously survived for a week by herself and is now being cared for by family members after being released from the hospital,” the release states.

Autopsy and toxicology results indicated the presence of “multiple illicit opioids” in Bramer and Reed, the release states. Those included fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, butyrylfentanyl, metabolites of fentanyl as well as alcohol and marijuana, the release states.

Baby alone for days in Muskegon County motel room where 2 adults found dead

A state police trooper discovered the scene Friday, May 24

Fentanyl is a “highly addictive” synthetic substitute for morphine that has a rapid onset and is 80 to 200 times more potent than morphine, according to the release. Acetyl fentanyl is a synthetic opioid believed to be five times more potent than heroin, the release states. And butyrylfentanyl also is a synthetic opioid that has a depressive and analgesic effect on the central nervous system.

The bodies of Bramer, 26, of Alpine Township, and Reed, 28, of Marne, were discovered on May 24. Their daughter, who was alone in the room, was flown to DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids in critical condition.

The death certificates for Bramer and Reed list their dates of death as “on or after May 21.”