Inset: Alvetta Juanita Haskins (Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office). Background: The Norfolk, Va., apartment complex where Haskins gave her infant granddaughter adult medication (Google Maps).
A Virginia grandmother has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after admitting she fatally poisoned her infant granddaughter with medication intended for adults.
Alvetta Juanita Haskins, 51, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of felony homicide in connection with the child’s death.
On Friday, Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Jamilah LeCruise handed down a 30-year sentence, suspending 17 years and three months. Haskins is expected to serve at least 12 years and nine months behind bars.
The case stems from an incident in April 2024, when Haskins was caring for her twin grandchildren, including 3-month-old Skylar, at an apartment on Suburban Parkway in Norfolk that she shared with her boyfriend, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
“At some point, Ms. Haskins added her prescription antipsychotic medication as well as cough syrup into her granddaughter’s baby bottle and fed it to her,” the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a press release issued last year. “While it remains unclear why she did so, it appears that she did so to quiet the baby.”
Haskins offered a different explanation, saying she thought Skylar was congested and that, because she did not have children’s Tylenol, she believed she was mixing adult Tylenol into the baby’s powdered formula.
Authorities later determined that was not what had been placed in the bottle.
Sometime after midnight, the defendant woke up to check on the babies. Skylar was limp and had vomit on her face. The woman called 911 and attempted CPR – for naught.
Paramedics arrived and took the baby to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, where she was later pronounced dead.
In July 2024, a toxicology report came back that showed the girl’s cause of death was Seroquel – which Haskins had been prescribed for anxiety and depression. Her blood also showed the presence of an over-the-counter antihistamine commonly used to relieve cold symptoms.
In November 2024, law enforcement interviewed the defendant a second time. Prosecutors said she failed to mention the medication.
Haskins, personally and through her attorney, has said she did not remember the medication at first and that it was an accident.
“I wish I could take it all back but I can’t,” the convicted woman told the courtroom through tears on Friday. “That was my family, my blood. I didn’t know it was the wrong medication till the detective and my daughter told me so.”
During the sentencing hearing, Haskins elaborated before the court – saying she was arguing with her boyfriend while she was administering the medications on the night in question. She also said she keeps all her prescriptions in the same bottle.
“I was trembling,” the defendant told the judge.
The state strongly admonished the defendant.
“Babies are not adults, and they should never be given prescription medication except by a doctor’s order,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in a statement. “Had her granddaughter lived, the proper charge against Ms. Haskins would have been felony child neglect, but since her granddaughter died, the proper charge is felony homicide. Anyone who takes responsibility for watching children, especially babies, must do so with care and must face the consequences if they engage in dangerous behavior such as this.”
In January, after a third interview, Haskins was arrested.
“Regardless of the sentence I pronounce, her granddaughter will never be able to enjoy life,” Judge LeCruise said while issuing the sentence.
As the defendant was led out of court, her family members – including her daughter – told her: “I love you.”
