A Broward mother is facing murder charges after prosecutors say she used a powerful prescription drug to put her toddler to sleep.
Raisa Bernabe was in court Friday morning to face manslaughter charges related to the September 2009 death of her young son.
Bernabe told investigators that she gave her son a Lunesta sleeping pill the night before his death. Toxicology reports concluded that the boy died of a lethal dose of Zopiclone, the key drug found in Lunesta, which is used by adults to cure insomnia.
Prosecutors said in a press release that toxicology reports of the boy's death resulted in the manslaughter charge for Bernabe.
The mother also faces delivery of a controlled substance to a minor and knowing sale or transfer of prescription drugs to an unauthorized person.
Bernabe was an assistant in the Coconut Creek city clerk's office and her husband, Alan Odze, is a retired New York police officer.
A police search of the Coral Springs home turned up dozens of bottles of prescription drugs, most of which were prescribed to Odze.
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Bernabe is being held on $10,000 bond.
