• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Mother's warning over 'silent killer' that killed both of her children in less than one year

Home> News> US News

Published 16:34 3 Oct 2024 GMT+1

Mother's warning over 'silent killer' that killed both of her children in less than one year

Tammy Lyon-Gordon says she 'can't eat, sleep, or breathe' as she is so consumed by grief

Olivia Burke

Olivia Burke

A grieving mother has urged parents to educate their children on the dangers of drugs after losing both of her kids to fentanyl-related overdoses within the space of 10 months.

Tammy Lyon-Gordon has told how she is 'living with the worst pain possible' while trying to navigate life without her son Tyler and daughter Jenna, who tragically both passed away in their family home in California's Riverside County.

Tyler was just 18 when he was found unconscious in his bedroom on the morning of 23 April 2020 after he consumed what he believed to be Percocet, which he had purchased from someone on social media, according to Mercury News.

Advert

It later emerged that the drug was laced with fentanyl - a highly addictive and fast-acting opioid which is 100 times more potent than morphine - which resulted in him suffering from a fatal overdose.

His cause of death was listed as acute fentanyl intoxication.

Siblings Tyler, 18, and Jenna, 16, both died after fatal fentanyl overdoses (KTLA)
Siblings Tyler, 18, and Jenna, 16, both died after fatal fentanyl overdoses (KTLA)

Less than 12 months after Tyler's untimely passing, his mother was dealt another devastating blow when her 16-year-old daughter, Jenna, also passed away at home after taking counterfeit Xanax.

It turned out that the teenage schoolgirl had actually been given pure fentanyl.

Advert

In a cruel twist of fate, she was also found unconscious in her bedroom, exactly like her older brother was.

Jenna was found alongside her boyfriend Raymond Gene Tyrrell Jr, who was also incapacitated, before the pair were rushed to hospital.

She could not be saved and was pronounced dead, but the 18-year-old man was resuscitated and survived.

Tyrrell was later arrested and charged with murder in connection with the youngster's death, but was ultimately convicted of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter on 31 July this year, seeing him slapped with a three-year sentence.

Speaking of her heartbreak, mum Tammy said that the jury's decision 'brought her to her knees'.

Advert

Their devastated mother Tammy described the highly-potent drug as an 'invisible killer' (KTLA)
Their devastated mother Tammy described the highly-potent drug as an 'invisible killer' (KTLA)

"I feel like I have lost my daughter all over again," she said in a victim impact statement. "On February 24, 2021, my whole world changed for a second time - I lost my child at the hands of another person.

"While the paramedics were in my house trying to save my daughter, I was on my knees begging God to let me switch places with Jenna, to take me instead. I've lost 95 pounds since Jenna's life was taken.

"I had already lost my 18-year-old son. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't breathe because of my constant anxiety.

"I have been battling depression for over three years, I'm in constant flight-or-fight mode."

Advert

Tammy said her 'purpose in life' was being a mother, and this has now been 'stolen' from her due to fentanyl.

The grief-stricken mum said her children's deaths still 'don't seem real' to her, and she encouraged other parents to educate their kids on the deadly risks which come with taking illegal substances.

She told US news outlet KTLA: "It [fentanyl] really is the invisible killer.

The DEA shared an image to illustrate what a lethal dose of fentanyl can look like (DEA)
The DEA shared an image to illustrate what a lethal dose of fentanyl can look like (DEA)

"They had no idea they were taking fentanyl," Tammy continued. "To have them die at home, a place they felt safe, haunts me every day.

Advert

"I’m living with the worst pain possible. Speak with your kids about the dangers. Don’t lose them to this drug."

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have warned Americans that it only takes a tiny amount of fentanyl to trigger a deadly reaction, with Deputy Special Agent Anthony Chrysantis making an emotional please.

"This drug that's coming in from the cartels is out there, and you need to be careful because if you get your hands on the wrong stuff, you can die," he said.

Chrysantis said the DEA are currently seizing record levels of fentanyl, in both pill and powder form.

According to a 2023 report by the National Center for Health Statistics deaths by overdose involving the drug spiked some 279 percent between 2016 and 2023 in the US.

Featured Image Credit: KTLA

Topics: Health, Drugs, US News, Crime, Parenting

Olivia Burke
Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

X

@livburke_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Parents of 19-year-old girl who died after trying viral 'dusting' trend warn others about its deadly risks
  • Rapper of one of most viral songs ever made heartbreaking admission years before being sentenced to 30 years in prison
  • Mum made chilling phone call to police after killing three of her own children
  • Mum of student who tore out her own eyeballs while taking drugs spoke out one year after incident

Choose your content:

16 mins ago
28 mins ago
2 hours ago
  • 16 mins ago

    Doctor explains key signs that your 'hay fever' is actually new Covid strain

    The emergence of the new Covid strain has coincided with hay fever season

    News
  • 28 mins ago

    Average penis size in UK as urologist explains truth behind 'Ozempic penis'

    Could the GLP-1 drug be playing a part in the UK's new average penis size?

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Billionaire will leave £10 billion fortune to 100 children he has all around the world

    How do I find out if i'm part of his army of kids?

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Brits issued major warning over 'most important threat to health' that will lead to 30,000 deaths in 2025

    It affects pretty much everybody in the world

    News