Mom Allegedly Gave Teen Daughter A Lethal Dose Of Fentanyl To Treat Toothache

A Missouri mother was charged last week and accused of giving her 14-year-old daughter a lethal dose of fentanyl after she complained of a toothache.

Jacquelyn Powers, 35, appeared in court on Nov. 7 and was charged with endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, resulting in the death of a child, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by HuffPost.

Powers told police that she had given the teen what she believed was an oxycodone pill she found in her drawer on Oct. 3, according to the complaint. The girl had complained about a toothache, and Powers said she had been prescribed the oxycodone following a surgery. Ten hours later, the teen was found dead.

An autopsy revealed that the teen had suffered from a fentanyl overdose, and she tested negative for oxycodone, according to the complaint.

Powers told police she’d got the fentanyl from her own mother after she “traded” some of her oxycodone for pills her mom bought “on the street.” That had been Powers’ attempt to “protect” her mom from dangerous drugs, she said.

Overland Police Department Capt. Jim Morgan called the incident “tragic” in an interview with FOX affiliate KTVI, saying the 14-year-old had “a lot of years to look forward to.”

Powers is being held on $150,000 bond and is scheduled for a court hearing on Nov. 19. An attorney was not listed under her records.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest findings revealed that 107,941 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses in 2022, and 73,838 of those deaths were primarily due to fentanyl.

Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.