Mother Pleads Guilty in Death of Three Year Old Child from Fentanyl Poisoning

WASHINGTON - Sasha McCoy, 28, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty on October 15, 2024, on the charge of voluntary manslaughter in the death of her 3-year-old daughter on October 28, 2022, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), announced.

McCoy has been in custody since her arrest on February 15, 2024. Her guilty plea, which was contingent upon the Court's approval, called for an agreed-upon 4 to10-year prison sentence, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, at approximately 1:00 p.m. on October 28, 2022, McCoy took her two children to the back bedroom of the location she was staying for a nap and placed them in the bed. When McCoy went to check on her children, she found her 3-year-old daughter unconscious and unresponsive. She later died at the hospital. A small plastic bag that contained two blue round pills with a monogram "M" and half of an oval pill were discovered on top of the bed that the children were sleeping in. The drug analysis determined that the partial tablet was Alprazolam - that is Xanax. The oval pills were determined to contain 4-ANPP, Acetaminophen, Fentanyl, Flurofentanyl, as well as other substances. Medical examiners determined the decedent died from fentanyl and flurofentanyl intoxication.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Assistant United States Attorney Emma McArthur for her efforts in prosecuting this case.