Mother charged with murder after child dies from ingesting delta-8 THC gummies, officials say

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. — The mother of a little boy who died in May was arrested on murder charges after investigators said her son’s death was caused by eating gummies containing a cannabis derivative.

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The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Dorothy Annette Clements for the death of her 4-year-old son in a news release. Deputies said that Clements’ 4-year-old son died on May 8 after suffering a medical emergency from eating a large amount of “THC gummies.”

Reached via phone, a representative for the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia said Tanner Jacobs Clements’ manner of death was ruled accidental and that the cause of death was delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol toxicity.

Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as delta-8 THC, is a substance found in the cannabis plant, the same plant that produces marijuana and hemp.

The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated or approved any delta-8 THC products for use, and warns consumers that the agency has received reports of adverse events involving the drug. As of Feb. 28, there have been 104 reports of adverse events, 8% of which involved pediatric patients under 18 years old.

Clements told a reporter for WUSA that she bought what she believed to be harmless CBD gummies from a Fredericksburg store, and said she had no idea the gummies actually contained THC. The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office told WUSA that the evidence it seized from Clements’ home does not match her story, but did not say what evidence was found.

Court records obtained by The Free Lance-Star show doctors told detectives after the boy’s death that toxicology tests revealed “an extremely high” level of THC in the child’s system. According to the court records, the child’s doctor told investigators that the little boy’s death could have been prevented had he received medical attention faster.

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