EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A young Indiana woman was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for the death of her 3-year-old daughter who ingested fentanyl.
Makaylee Opperman, 21, of Evansville made a deal with prosecutors in October and pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute a drug, the Evansville Courier & Press reported.
Kamari Opperman died in 2021 after swallowing fentanyl pills found inside a nightstand, according to police. Two other children survived overdoses after receiving treatment.
Authorities at the time said more than 5,000 fentanyl pills were found inside the home.
Vanderburgh County Judge Kelli Fink said the case was “heartbreaking.”
Defense attorney Jon Humphress asked for leniency, along with mental health and substance abuse treatment. Prosecutors sought a 30-year prison sentence.
“She is 21 years old. She has no prior felony convictions. She has two other children who need her," Humphress said.
Family members traveled from Alabama to tell the judge that Opperman was a good mother who loved her children.
-
Local organization provides holiday assistance to hundreds of Hoosiers
An organization on the city’s east side is helping make the holidays a little more special for hundreds of Hoosiers.
82-year-old woman dies in fire on Indy's southeast side
An 82-year-old woman died in a house fire on the southeast side of Indianapolis on Saturday. Family said she lived in the home for over 30 years.
1 dead, 1 critically injured in shooting at west side apartment complex
IMPD is investigating after one person was killed and another was critically injured in a shooting at an apartment complex on the city's west side Friday night.
IMPD released bodycam footage from fatal shooting of carjacking suspect in Oct.
IMPD released body cam footage of a shooting in which officers shot an armed carjacking suspect on the east side of Indianapolis in October.
