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Van Buren woman charged with manslaughter in March death of infant from exposure to methamphetamine

Writer's picture: Dennis McCaslinDennis McCaslin

By: Dennis McCaslin


An investigation into the death of an infant in Van Buren has led to the arrest of the mother of the child on manslaughter charges after an autopsy revealed traces of meth in the system of Greyson Strickland. 


Rachael Lynn Dukes of Van Buren was booked into the Crawford County Detention Center on June 1 after a probable cause affidavit led to her arrest in the death of the baby. 


You can download that affidavit by clicking this link:




That affidavit said Greyson was transported to Baptist hospital in Van Buren and later passed away on March 30 of this year.


 Investigators spoke with Dukes who told them she had fed the child and laid him down after he ate. She said that she then laid down and fell asleep. 


Dukes' told the investigators that when she woke up she noticed the child's color was "different" and when she picked him up he was not breathing. She took the baby to a neighbor's apartment, and they called 911 and started CPR.


Paramedics transported Grayson to the hospital and then made arrangements for his body to be sent to the State Crime Lab for an autopsy.


When the toxicology report came back it showed Greyson had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his blood system. Dukes claim she did not know how the meth got into Grayson's system.


It was also revealed that the baby had a non-fatal skull fracture. Dukes claimed while she was changing the child's diaper, he fell off her bed. 


An additional report on the bottle in the crib that was used to feed the child the day of his death tested positive for methamphetamine. 


Upon obtaining a search warrant, officers found several mentions on her cell phone of drug use, drug sales, and drug purchases by Dukes.


Dukes admitted to investigators that she used and bought methamphetamine while the child was still alive. There was also evidence on the cell phone that indicated that children were in the house when drug sales and use was occurring. 


Despite her earlier claims she did not know how the meth got into the baby bottle, she later told investigators she was holding some meth and it accidentally fell into the bottle and then she made the bottle and fed it to Greyson.


The father of the child, Nick Strickland, is also in the Crawford County Detention Center on unrelated charges as a courtesy hold for the Arkansas Department of Corrections. According to his booking information he has been in the CCDC since June 15 of last year and was sentenced to eight years on felony fleeing charges,


Once the charges were referred to the Crawford County prosecutor's office, a decision was made to charge her with manslaughter and domestic battery.


Dukes was initially processed into the crop County Detention Center on a no bond hold until a preliminary hearing. The prosecutor's office asked for $300,000 bail and the judge set her bond at $150,000.


As of 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dukes remained in the custody at the Crawford County Detention Center.







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