Charles Dowdy, 31, frantically called paramedics on January 11 around 10:30 pm.
He said he was lying in bed with his son and his wife, and when he woke up, he noticed his son's lips had turned blue, Cleveland.com reports.
Dowdy tried to give his 8-year-old CPR with the help of the dispatcher before the boy was taken to the hospital. While there, employees concluded the 8-year-old overdosed on heroin.
Dowdy and his wife, 31-year-old Danielle Simko, were arrested at the scene.
Judging from the phone call he had with the dispatcher — where he incorrectly claimed his son was 7 years old, not 8 — Dowdy allegedly propped his child onto a hard surface and began giving him compressions in attempt to revive him.
When the dispatcher asked what happened to the child, Dowdy said,
I think he was sleeping and I think what happened was he rolled over and I don't think he could breathe. I think he was just, like, in the pillow and he suffocated.
When an officer arrived at the Ohio home, he searched for a pulse in the couple's son and fortunately found one. The child was then rushed to Southwest General Medical Center.
During the child's visit to the emergency room, hospital employees found a bag of heroin and prescription pills hidden inside a toy watch that was tucked inside the boy's sock.
A urine test is what confirmed the child overdosed on heroin, WKYC reports.
After concluding heroine caused their son to stop breathing, police questioned the father, who admitted to using drugs inside their home earlier that day.
Thankfully, the boy's overdose was not fatal and he is currently in the custody of relatives, DailyMail.com reports.
Dowdy and Simko were charged of child endangerment on February 17 and are currently each being held on a $150,000 bond.
They will appear in court again on February 22.
Citations: Berea parents held on $150k bond after heroin found in 8-year-old's system: 911 call (WKYC), Ohio parents whose eight-year-old son died of a HEROIN overdose are charged (DailyMail.com), Berea parents charged in 7-year-old son's heroin overdose (Cleveland.com)
