25 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A newly released court document gives more details about a toddler’s fentanyl death last year.
Israel Luna-Vick was 22 months old when his father, Calvin Vick, rushed him to a Wichita hospital around 10 p.m. on June 20, 2022. Police said the child was not breathing. Hospital staff tried to revive him, but he died before 11 p.m.
It took until May for lab results to indicate how Israel died. Police said it was fentanyl toxicity, and they arrested the father. The district attorney’s office charged Calvin Vick with first-degree murder and aggravated endangering a child.
On Tuesday, authorities released the probable cause affidavit in the case. A Wichita Police Department detective wrote the two-page document detailing the police investigation.
Detective Donald Moore said police were sent to the hospital to investigate the toddler’s death. Officers said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the child’s body.
At the time of the incident, Calvin Vick’s sister lived in the apartment where Calvin Vick lived with his two children. She allegedly told a detective that she was working from home that evening. When she clocked off work at 9 p.m., she said she walked past her brother’s door and saw Israel on the floor near a rolled-up blanket and an infant toy. She assumed Israel was asleep.
The sister had groceries delivered around 9:15 p.m. and began preparing dinner. She told police that Calvin Vick came out of his room at some point and asked about the food, then went back to his room.
According to the affidavit, the sister said Calvin Vick ran out of the room holding Israel, panicking as he said, “Israel’s not breathing.” The sister said she called 911 at 9:59 p.m., but nobody answered. She said she told Calvin Vick to take Israel to the hospital while she stayed in the apartment with Calvin Vick’s younger baby.
Detective Moore alleges that Calvin Vick left the hospital before providing a statement to detectives. However, Moore said Calvin Vick talked to police officers before leaving. The officers allege that Calvin Vick said, “I don’t want you guys thinking this was drugs.”
Calvin Vick said that when he checked on the sleeping child, Israel was not breathing. According to the officers, Calvin Vick said he drove Israel to the hospital, giving him CPR on the way.
Moore said that a detective interviewed Israel’s mother at the hospital. She told the detective that Calvin Vick picked the children up around 2 p.m. that day. Around 8 p.m., she and Calvin Vick had a five-minute video chat and talked about the younger child’s dinner.
The mother told police that Calvin Vick allegedly said Israel was sleeping, so the mother did not ask to speak to or see Israel. The mother told police that Israel usually slept on a pallet of blankets folded up on the floor of Calvin Vick’s bedroom.
Det. Moore and other investigators searched Calvin Vick’s apartment on June 21, 2022. Moore alleges that they found four round blue pills in the carpet, including underneath the child’s sleeping area. The pills were allegedly marked with “M” and “30.” The pills were sent to the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center for testing.
Moore said the lab report came back in July, allegedly showing all four pills had some level of fentanyl.
Dr. Timothy Gorrill, Sedgwick County’s chief medical examiner, did the autopsy on Israel. He concluded that the toddler died as a result of fentanyl toxicity.
Calvin Vick’s case is still making its way through the court system. His next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 1.