Police say 11-year-old Precious Wallaces had fentanyl in her system; Great uncle held without bail in connection to Haverhill girl’s death

Precious Wallaces, the 11-year-old Haverhill girl who suddenly died last month, tested positive for having fentanyl in her system after sleeping at her great uncle’s apartment in Lawrence, according to a police report.

Authorities began to investigate Wallaces’ death after she was found unresponsive at 233 Jackson St. in Lawrence on Dec. 15. Wallaces was taken to Lawrence General Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to Tufts Medical Center, where she died.

On Friday, authorities announced that 58-year-old Miguel Rivera of Lawrence was arrested in connection with Wallaces’ death, charged with permitting substantial bodily injury to a child and misleading a police investigation.

Rivera is Wallaces’ great uncle, according to a police report.

Miguel Rivera charged in connection with death of 11-year-old Precious Wallaces of Haverhill, DA says

On Dec. 15, Wallaces and another child slept over at Rivera’s apartment at 233 Jackson St., the police report reads. Wallaces played games on Rivera’s phone and used a shared common bathroom in the hallway. All three slept in the same bed.

Rivera awoke during the night to hear Wallaces having a hard time breathing, according to the report.

“Miguel Rivera said that he rolled Precious on her side and wiped mucus away from her nose and mouth,” the report reads. “Miguel Rivera said that he physically picked her up, took her to a sink in the room, by physically having to carry her, and splashed water on her face. Miguel Rivera said that he put her back on the bed and gave her chest compressions.”

Rivera called 911 after attempting the chest compressions, the report read.

In an interview with Lawrence police on Dec. 17, Rivera told officers that he flushed prescription sleeping pills down the toilet in the common bathroom while “his great niece was in his single room apartment having a medical emergency,” according to the report.

A surveillance camera in the building captured images of Rivera going back and forth from his apartment to the common bathroom from 3:13 a.m. — around the time Wallaces started having breathing problems — until 3:34 a.m., according to the report.

While Wallaces was having breathing problems, it took Rivera at least 13 minutes to call 911, according to the report. He called 911 from his cell phone at 3:26 a.m.

Rivera allegedly told police that he did not give Wallaces a sleeping pill, but that he flushed the pills down the toilet because he thought she took one, according to the report.

Rivera was arraigned in Lawrence District Court on Tuesday, where a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf. He was held without bail pending a dangerous hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 29, according to Carrie Kimball, a spokeswoman for the office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

An autopsy was performed on Wallaces, but a cause and manner of death were not determined.

Authorities could issue more charges against Rivera, Blodgett’s office said last week.

Wallaces was a student at Consentino Middle School in Haverhill.

“This tragedy happened so unexpectedly, who would of thought our Precious would leave us so soon. She was just starting to live life,” a family member wrote on a GoFundMe created on her family’s behalf to help offset burial costs.

Death of 11-year-old Precious Wallaces in Lawrence under investigation