Missouri Woman Arrested for Allegedly Giving Fentanyl-Laced Pill to 14-Year-Old Daughter, Resulting in Fatal Overdose

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A Missouri woman has been arrested after allegedly giving her 14-year-old daughter a pill containing fentanyl, leading to the teenager's fatal overdose. Jacquelyn R. Powers, 35, was taken into custody last week and now faces charges of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, resulting in death, according to court records.
Court documents identify the victim as "VT," though several media outlets have reported that Powers is the mother of the deceased girl. Authorities have not officially confirmed the nature of their relationship.
According to the criminal complaint filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, prosecutors allege that last month, Powers "knowingly acted in a manner that created a substantial risk to the life" of the teenager by providing her with a pill believed to contain fentanyl.
The Overland Police Department’s probable cause affidavit sheds light on the events leading to the child’s death. On October 3, 2024, the 14-year-old complained to Powers about a toothache. Powers allegedly gave her a pill from her drawer, which she told investigators she believed was oxycodone from a past surgery. Roughly 10 hours after taking the pill, the teen was found dead. A subsequent autopsy confirmed fentanyl as the cause of death, with no trace of oxycodone in her system.
Powers reportedly admitted to police that she had previously traded her prescribed oxycodone for pills her mother had purchased on the street. She claimed she had kept these pills in a drawer as a means of "protecting" her mother from potentially dangerous street drugs.
When authorities executed a search warrant at Powers' residence on the 9500 block of Echo Lane in St. Louis, they reportedly found additional street drugs and other minors in the home.
“This is tragic,” Overland Police Department Captain Jim Morgan told local Fox affiliate KTVI. “This shouldn’t happen. She’s 14 and had a lot of years to look forward to.”
Powers is being held in the St. Louis County Jail on a $150,000 cash-only bond. She is scheduled for a bond hearing on November 19 and a preliminary hearing on December 11.
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