Jurors convict man of murder for 7-year-old son’s fentanyl overdose in Minneapolis home

A jury on Thursday convicted a father of murder for the fentanyl overdose of his 7-year-old son at his home in Minneapolis.

Nelson Randolph III, 46, was found guilty in Hennepin County District Court of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter in connection to the death of Amonre Nelson Randolph on Aug. 17, 2020, at the residence in the 1800 block of 44th Avenue N.

Randolph remains jailed without bail ahead of sentencing on April 15.

Court records in Minnesota show that Randolph’s criminal history includes two convictions for illicit drug possession, two for assault, one for illegal weapons possession and one for domestic assault.

According to the charges:

Police were called to Randolph’s home about 7 a.m. about a child who was unresponsive. Officers and emergency medical personnel determined the boy was dead. The father said he found his son in a bedroom. The boy’s body was was stiff, and a white substance was around his mouth.

An autopsy by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Amonre had died from acute fentanyl toxicity.

In a search of Randolph’s home about six weeks later, police found baggies in a bathroom that are commonly used to store illegal drugs and various tablets. Officers also detected a strong odor of bleach in the bathroom and seized guns and ammunition. A white pill later tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine. A green pill tested positive for fentanyl.

“Because of the shapes and colors of the pills,” the complaint noted, “their appearance was similar to chewable children’s vitamins.”

Questioned a few days after the search, Randolph admitted to using drugs but said he never left them “out at his home [and] doesn’t use fentanyl at all,” the criminal complaint said.