Woman sentenced to 8 years in prison in connection with 3-year-old’s fentanyl death
By Chloe Godding, Nick Sloan
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LEAVENWORTH, Kansas (KMBC) — A Leavenworth, Kansas, woman will spend several years behind bars for her role in a 3-year-old child’s fentanyl-related death.
Tara Ann Huerta, 40, pleaded guilty last month in Leavenworth County District Court to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of aggravated endangering a child.
On March 27, Huerta was sentenced to 97 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections, Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson announced.
Charges were filed after a 3-year-old child, who was in Huerta’s care, died from acute fentanyl toxicity in March 2025.
Huerta and 35-year-old Kenneth Hedgecock reportedly admitted to using drugs while the child was in the apartment.
Various pieces of evidence from the apartment tested positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
Hedgecock pleaded no contest to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of aggravated endangering a child. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1.
Prosecutors say the case also involves the child’s mother, 30-year-old Briana Davis.
On Jan. 21, 2026, Davis pleaded no contest and was found guilty of abandonment of a child, aggravated battery, and endangering a child after investigators said she left the child with Huerta, knowing the child could be harmed.
“This was a preventable tragedy, and three people have now been convicted in connection with the loss of a young child’s life,” Thompson said after Huerta’s sentencing. “Fentanyl remains an incredibly dangerous substance — even a small amount can be fatal, especially for a child. It poses a danger not only to those who use it, but to everyone around them. Those entrusted with a child’s care have the utmost responsibility to protect them, and when adults choose to keep deadly substances in a home where a child is present, the consequences can be devastating.”
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