A Missouri woman, aged 35, has been apprehended by authorities for allegedly administering a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 14-year-old girl who was suffering from a toothache. The teenager subsequently succumbed to an overdose. The woman, Jacquelyn R. Powers, was charged last week with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death, according to court documents.
While the exact relationship between Powers and the victim, referred to as “VT” in court documents, was not explicitly stated by authorities, several reports suggest that Powers was the mother of the child. The charges against Powers were filed in the St. Louis County Circuit Court, where prosecutors claim that Powers knowingly put the child’s life at risk by giving her a pill containing fentanyl, which led to her death.
The Overland Police Department provided further details about the incident in a probable cause affidavit. On October 3, 2024, the 14-year-old girl complained of a toothache to Powers, who then allegedly gave her a pill she found in her drawer. Powers told investigators that she believed the pill was oxycodone, a medication she had been prescribed following a surgery.
Tragically, the teenager was found dead approximately 10 hours after ingesting the pill. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a fentanyl overdose, and no traces of oxycodone were found in her system at the time of her death.
During an interview with the police, Powers allegedly admitted to trading her prescribed oxycodone with her mother for pills purchased on the street. Powers claimed she kept these pills in a drawer and had made the trade to protect her mother from potentially dangerous street drugs.
A warrant for Powers’ arrest revealed that other illicit drugs were found in her home, where other minor children also resided. Powers was arrested at her home on Echo Lane in St. Louis last Friday, following the issuance of the warrant.
Captain Jim Morgan of the Overland Police Department expressed his sorrow over the incident, stating, “This is tragic. This shouldn’t happen. She’s 14 and had a lot of years to look forward to.”
Woman Arrested for Allegedly Administering Fatal Fentanyl Dose to Teenager
Powers is currently detained at the St. Louis County Jail with a cash-only bond set at $150,000. She is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on November 19 and a preliminary hearing on December 11.