A Hobart woman got 30 years Thursday in a plea deal for her daughter’s neglect death.
Tiffany Jenkins, 34, pleaded guilty in September to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony.
Judge Salvador Vasquez rejected her first plea agreement in May for 20 years saying it was too lenient.
When Jenkins wept during that hearing, Vasquez said she failed the child.
“She should be crying,” he said.
Police responded at 6:30 p.m. June 4, 2023, to the 600 block of Harvest Court in Crown Point for an unresponsive 2-year-old child.
A toxicology report found Avia Jenkins had fentanyl in her system. An autopsy noted she had congested lungs with “foamy fluid” in her nose and mouth.
Paramedics tried to give the child naloxone to counteract the drugs.
Officers found the girl lying in a hallway. She didn’t have a pulse and was “cold” to the touch.
Tiffany said she might have swallowed “mint extract,” or something similar, the affidavit states.
The mother’s DCS drug test was positive for drugs, including cocaine, THC and fentanyl. The case worker noted she was “mentioned” in 28 case files.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
