A 12-year-old boy is dead fom overdosing on fentanyl after being forced to clean his uncle’s home of drug paraphernalia.

The child had been found unresponsive on a school bus on Jan. 24 and later died on Feb. 1. The unidentified minor was a resident of Blackwood, New Jersey, in a home where the incident is said to have taken place.

Troy Nokes, 35, is the boy’s uncle and Gloucester Township Police along with Camden County Prosecutor’s Office announced he was facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child and first-degree aggravated manslaughter, among others.

The child’s cause of death was determined to be drug intoxication, with fentanyl being found in his system which was confirmed by the City of Philadelphia Office of the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Witnesses of the crime said that the boy was seen cleaning the site of the drugs before his death and was not wearing any gloves at the time.

A release stated that Nokes may face other charges including first-degree maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, witness tampering, hindering apprehension and employing a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme.

According to reports, Nokes’ girlfriend, a woman named Joanna Johnson, has been identified as an accomplice who tampered with evidence to hinder the arrest of Nokes.

In recent studies, it’s been said that overdoses attributed to fentanyl have killed more Americans between the ages of 18 to 45 than the COVID-19 virus.

The entertainment industry has also had its fair share of losses due to the deadly drug. Hip-hop artist Mac Miller died in 2018 after a dealer supplied him with fentanyl-laced drugs. In September 2021, comedian Fuquan Johnson died along with three others at a Los Angeles house party after taking the lethal drug. In that same month, actor Michael K. Williams lost his life from a fentanyl-related overdose as well.