A Missouri mother has been charged with the death of her teenage daughter, who she allegedly gave a lethal dose of fentanyl to after she complained of a toothache.
Prosecutors in St. Louis charged Jacquelyn Powers with endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, resulting in the death of a child, on Thursday, according to court documents.
Powers’ 14-year-old daughter had complained of a toothache on Oct. 3 at their Overland home, a suburb of St. Louis.
The mother initially tried giving her child Tylenol for the pain, but when that didn’t work, she allegedly gave the teen a pill she found in her drawer.
Around 10 hours after taking the pill, the teenager was found dead, according to the Overland Police Department.
The mother informed the police that she thought she had given her daughter oxycodone, which she had from a previous surgery, according to Fox 2 Now.
However, an autopsy revealed that the child had died from a fentanyl overdose and tested negative for the presence of oxycodone.
Powers explained to investigators that she had the fentanyl pills because she traded some of her oxycodone with her mother to protect her from dangerous pills she was allegedly buying on the street.
Police stated that Powers placed those pills in her drawer, which she ended up giving her daughter.
“This is tragic,” said Overland Police Department Capt. Jim Morgan.
Powers has been arrested and was seen being led from her Overland home in handcuffs on Friday.
She is being held on a $150,000 bond at the St. Louis County jail.
Powers is expected back in court on Nov. 19 for a bond reduction hearing, with her preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 11.
Endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, resulting in the death of a child, is considered a Class A felony, carrying the most severe potential penalties under this statute.
If found guilty, Powers could face up to a life sentence with the possibility of parole, according to state law.
