Toddler poisoned after finding meth pipe left in Colorado Springs motel room

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A chilling discovery in a Colorado Springs motel room left a toddler in grave danger when he found remnants of a meth pipe still laden with drug this past summer.

Eric Warfield and Dinnicka Maddux booked a one night stay at the Super 8 Motel on Chesnut Street on July 13. The couple was homeless and trying to save up for an apartment.

They thought a motel room was a safer place for their 18-month-old son Kingston to sleep. But the family may never stay in another motel after what happened less an hour after they checked in.

"He's crying like I've never seen him cry. His eyes are almost like rolling in his head," Warfield said.

Warfield wasn't sure what was wrong with his toddler but quickly made a shocking discovery when taking a closer look at Kingston.

"My son is on the floor playing, but he's making a hissing sound like something is in his mouth. So I opened his mouth and find a piece of black pipe," Warfield.

That black pipe is now evidence in an investigation by Colorado Springs Police, according to the family's attorney. Kingston's mother left work, and they immediately took the boy to the hospital. The parents were stunned to learn their toddler was diagnosed with meth poisoning.

"Once they found out that there was meth in his system, we were pretty much separated from our son," Warfield said.

Authorities initially suspected the couple had something to do with what happened, so Kingston was transported to Children's Hospital in Colorado Springs. The parents were told they could not ride with him.

"We are thinking that we're not going to be able to get our son back," Warfield said. "People were looking at us like we were bad, bad parents ... [it] was heart-wrenching."

The Colorado Springs Police Department was called in to investigate. The parents were determined to clear their names and get Kingston back, so they took a drug test the next day.

The drug test results reviewed by KRDO found no meth or other hard drugs in their systems. They did test positive for cannabis use.

Police started believing the couple after finding two additional pieces of what appeared to be the broken meth pipe in two other areas of the room.

The CSPD detective on the case wrote on the report, "My investigation revealed that the parent's story of a left-behind meth pipe from a room that wasn't all the way cleaned is very likely."

An employee at the Chestnut Street Super 8 disputed that assertion when talking to police on body camera video obtained by KRDO. The employee claimed that the pipe could have belonged to the parents. However, no evidence collected by police points to the parents.

With the results of the drug test and police investigation, the parents were cleared but still stunned at what had taken place.

A day later, Kingston's father took their concerns to Super 8's management after spending the night in the hospital with their son. The family claims the motel did not follow their corporate COVID-19 cleaning procedures, which may have caught the used meth pipe.

"The owner of the Super 8 has zero empathy. He did not care that my son was poisoned. He still charged me for staying there that night in the hotel," Warfield said.

The father tried contacting Super 8's corporate owner, Wyndham, but said he was only given a customer service survey to fill out and never heard back.

Wyndham released a statement to KRDO regarding the child's meth poisoning.

"The incident described by Mr. Warfield and Ms. Maddux is deeply troubling and in no way reflects our brand values or our expectations of franchisees. We extend to them our sincere apologies and hope their son has recovered and is doing well. Please know that the health and safety of guests is our highest priority and that we are addressing this incident directly with the hotel’s owner," a Wyndham spokesperson said.

Kingston's parents have filed a lawsuit against Super 8 and Wyndham alleging they failed to clean the hotel room properly.

The general manager of the Super 8 Motel on Chesnut Street declined to comment on the matter when contacted by KRDO.

Since that July day, Kingston's parents say their son has not been the same, acting unusually agitated and clingy. The toddler still requires regular therapy and doctor's appointments to monitor him for long term effects from the meth.

"No other family should have to worry about this, having their kid taken from them when they're already in a bad situation. I wouldn't wish this on anyone," Warfield said.

Colorado law caps the possible monetary damages to $300,000 for a lawsuit of this type.

Kingston's parents say they are in a much better situation and living in an apartment now, with no plans of staying in a motel again.