A grieving mother is pleading with parents to educate their children about the dangers of drvgs after losing both of her children to fentanyl-related overdoses within just 10 months. Tammy Lyon-Gordon is enduring unimaginable heartbreak as she copes with the deaths of her son, Tyler, and daughter, Jenna, who both trag!cally died at their home in Riverside County, California.
Tyler, just 18 years old, was found unconscious in his bedroom on April 23, 2020, after taking what he believed to be Percocet, purchased through social media. It was later discovered that the pill was laced with fentanyl, leading to a fatal overdose. His cause of death was determined to be acute fentanyl intoxication.
Less than a year later, Tammy experienced yet another devastating loss when her 16-year-old daughter, Jenna, also died at home after taking what she thought was Xanax, but was in fact pure fentanyl. In a hauntingly similar incident, Jenna was found unconscious in her bedroom, alongside her boyfriend, Raymond Gene Tyrrell Jr. While Jenna could not be saved, Tyrrell survived after being resuscitated.
Tyrrell was later arrested and convicted of involuntary manslaughter, receiving a three-year prison sentence. Tammy expressed her devastation at the jury’s verdict, saying it felt like losing her daughter all over again. “On February 24, 2021, my whole world changed for a second time,” she said.
Tammy’s grief has taken a physical and emotional toll, leaving her struggling with severe anxiety and depression. She describes feeling lost without her children, who were her purpose in life.
Now, Tammy is urging other parents to have open conversations with their children about the deadly risks of illicit drugs. In an interview with KTLA, she stressed the silent and invisible danger of fentanyl, saying, “They had no idea they were taking fentanyl. To have them die at home, a place they felt safe, haunts me every day. I’m living with the worst pain imaginable.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to warn about the lethal potential of fentanyl, which can be fatal even in extremely small amounts. Deputy Special Agent Anthony Chrysantis underscored the seriousness of the threat, saying, “This drug 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.”
Fentanyl seizures by the DEA have reached record highs, and a report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the U.S. have surged by 279 percent between 2016 and 2023.