Aliquippa mother facing charges after 3-month-old dies from cocaine toxicity, court documents say

ALIQUIPPA, Pa. — A mother from Aliquippa is facing charges months after her 3-month-old baby died from cocaine toxicity, according to court documents.

On Oct. 30, at around noon, police responded to Boundry Street for a report of an infant not breathing.

Emergency crews noticed the baby had pin-point pupils and administered Narcan while providing CPR, court documents said.

According to the criminal complaint, the baby was taken to the hospital and tested positive for cocaine and cocaine metabolites. The infant was pronounced brain dead and was taken off a ventilator a few days later.

“Shocking. I have a son, obviously, and I couldn’t imagine. I just really couldn’t. I think if anything were to happen to him, I would lose myself,” Sarah Goughnour said.

The mother, Rachel Dlubak, told police she put the baby down for a nap and was not breathing when she checked on her around 30 minutes later.

“I would figure your motherly instinct would kick in to kind of protect her baby from harm,” Derek Steele said.

An autopsy revealed that the baby died from cocaine toxicity, the complaint said. Dlubak consented to submitting a drug test and also tested positive for cocaine metabolites, as well as marijuana.

Dlubak told police that she was the sole caregiver for the baby at the time of her death and for the entire morning. She said she fell asleep on the couch while the infant slept in a bassinet nearby and when she woke up, the child was blue, the complaint said.

When asked how the baby ingested cocaine, or why she tested positive for cocaine, Dlubak had no answer, according to court documents. She said the baby was exclusively on formula and thinks someone put the drugs in her food.

Dlubak is charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.

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