Mom Charged In Baby's Methadone Death Arrested Before

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — The South Brunswick mom who was arrested Tuesday and charged with causing the death of her 2-year-old son after he ingested her methadone has been arrested before — for allegedly stealing $30,000 from an 88-year-old woman and her disabled daughter, and using the money to feed her drug habit, police say.

As Patch reported, Lynn Bergans, 34, who lives on Sand Hills Road in the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick, was arrested Tuesday. South Brunswick police and EMS rushed to her home in the middle of the night on May 15 of this year, after Bergans said her two-year-old son was unresponsive in his bed. It is unclear who called 911 that night.

Police and rescue workers tried to revive the boy, but they were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the home. The Middlesex County prosecutor says the boy ingested a combination of water and methadone, which was prescribed to his mother. She was prescribed the methadone at a clinic in New Brunswick. A subsequent toxicology report showed the boy died from a methadone overdose.

But this is not Bergans' first brush with the law: She was arrested in 2011 when she was 27 years old and working as a home health aide at the time. She was charged with taking care of an 88-year-old woman and her 55-year-old disabled daughter in their South Brunswick home. The alleged thefts were discovered when a relative visiting from out of state noticed that many checks were missing from the elderly woman's house, and called police in July of 2011.

South Brunswick police detective Roger Tuohy discovered Bergans had been stealing from the family since December of that year, and writing checks to herself, NJ.com reported at the time. When police searched her home on Sand Hills Road at the time, they said they found checks and stolen bank statements in her basement.

Police said she stole up to $30,000 from the elderly woman and her disabled daughter. She was also using the older woman's car without her permission, police said.

According to the report, Bergans used the money to buy cocaine and other drugs.

Following her arrest Tuesday, Bergans is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center pending her initial court appearance in New Brunswick. She has been charged with reckless manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of her toddler son.

Latest Patch coverage of Lynn Bergans: Boy, 2, Dies After Ingesting Methadone In South Brunswick

2011 mugshot of Lynn Bergans used with permission from South Brunswick police.