An Adams County judge dismissed first-degree murder charges against Brighton parents accused of causing the fentanyl poisoning death of their 2-year-old girl, according to an order filed this month.

Chief Judge Don Quick of the 17th Judicial District ruled the evidence does not support allegations that Alonzo Montoya, 31, and Nicole Casias, 31, “knowingly caused the death” of their 22-month-old baby, Aviyana Ramona Montoya.

The girl died Jan. 2, the first child to die of fentanyl-involved poison this year.

The couple still faces charges of child abuse resulting in death, and other criminal counts.

The case starkly illustrates the difficulty of prosecuting such cases. In September, prosecutors for Adams and Broomfield counties decided not to file charges in connection with the deaths of five people who fatally overdosed on the drug in February in a Commerce City apartment.

Colorado’s fentanyl crisis has spiraled out of control in the last few years. There were five fentanyl overdose deaths in 2000. Compare that number to 2021, when fentanyl deaths soared to 912, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Through the first three quarters of 2022, the state saw 228 overdose deaths involving fentanyl.

“There was not evidence that either Defendant gave fentanyl to the child, knew the child had consumed fentanyl or had let the child roam free overnight with fentanyl being available within easy reach,” Quick’s Dec. 1 order said. “If so, the court could have found evidence establishing probable cause for the murder charge.”

Brighton police found the child unresponsive after they were called to her home, where her parents were allegedly dealing fentanyl disguised as oxycodone pills, according to a 17th Judicial District grand jury indictment.

The parents had faced seven charges, including first degree murder of a victim under 12 by a person in a position of trust.

While Quick found no evidence of pre-meditation, he said he could not ignore the evidence showing the couple ignored the infant for hours as she died gasping for air.

“However, the court must also consider the evidence that neither parent checked in on this child for 14 hours while they used and sold drugs (and went about the apartment),” Quick said. “For over six hours, this child struggled to stay alive. She cried, coughed, and gasped for breath as her lungs filled with fluids. Yet, no one came to help her. This evidence is shocking in its disregard for the child’s wellbeing.

The judge added: “But, it does not demonstrate that the defendants were practically certain that their acts would result in the victim’s death. In considering this evidence, even in conjunction with the exposure to fentanyl before the child was put to bed, the court still does not find this evidence supports a finding of probable cause that the parents ‘knowingly caused the death’ of their child.”

In an email, District Attorney Brian Mason’s spokesperson Chris Hopper said, “We’re studying the judge’s ruling.”

Nicole Casias, 31, still faces multiple felony charges, including racketeering, child abuse resulting in death, child abuse while allegedly making and selling drugs in close proximity.

Alonzo Montoya, 31, also faces similar charges, including child abuse in relation to a second female child.

Surveillance video showed that Casias put the child in her crib for 14 hours, where she, at times, cried in pain. The video showed that Casias said, “Get out of that,” picked up Aviyana and put her in her crib, according to the warrant. It’s unclear what Casias was talking about in the footage, the indictment pointed out. As her parents allegedly continued their narcotics transactions and people came in and out of their home, they left the baby alone in her crib, the affidavit claimed.

The indictment said the couple often brought clients into their bedroom, making transactions in front of their two children. It also alleged they exposed their kids to the drugs “at all hours of the day and night.”

Evidence shows “that the defendants were using and selling fentanyl out of the family home for at least six months prior to their child Aviyana’s death on January 2, 2022,” the order said, adding, “The post-autopsy testing of Aviyana’s hair follicles showed that she was subject to extended exposure (3 months) to the smoking of cocaine, meth and marijuana prior to her death.”

The autopsy found “a high level of fentanyl in Aviyana’s gastric fluid” that showed she ingested it. She also had methamphetamine “in her blood and vitreous fluid, but not at fatal levels.”

Aviyana was the first of several Colorado children under 14 to die of fentanyl-involved poisoning in 2022, according to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

“Fentanyl is literally killing children from every age group,” Mason earlier said.