A St. Paul mother has admitted to her role in the tragic fentanyl overdose death of her young daughter, changing her plea to guilty. Shauntaija Jannell Travis, 28, faces a charge of second-degree manslaughter after her 7-year-old daughter passed away from a fentanyl overdose, according to court records cited by CBS News Minnesota.
Last March's sad turn of events had the authorities discover Travis's daughter lifeless in their Sherburne Avenue residence. The medical examiner concluded that fentanyl toxicity was the cause of death, and deemed it accidental. In the aftermath of the death, officers uncovered a straw with white residue and a pill containing fentanyl in Travis's bedroom. "Seventy-five," Travis estimated the chances her daughter got into her drugs, as per the criminal complaint.
The plea agreement which involved Travis entering an amended guilty plea last Friday, will likely result in the dismissal of the second count of manslaughter. KSTP reports Travis was initially slated to face two counts of this charge before she changed her plea. However, the agreement now anticipates only one count. Back in June, when she was charged, concerns over Travis's daughter's welfare had been previously noted. Such concerns included allegations of neglect and an incident where the child reported a burn inflicted by her mother to school staff.
As detailed by KSTP, alarm bells had been rung months before the tragic incident at her St. Paul elementary school, which staff, mandatory reporters failed to formally report until after the child's death. Shauntaija Travis also admitted during police questioning that while she believed to have kept her drugs out of her daughter's reach, she wasn't aware of the leftover blue pill – the same type found in their home – thus leaving, a devastating risk unchecked.
The case highlighted systemic failures and personal missteps. A child welfare report showed that the young girl had approached school staff about a burn she said was from her mother, yet proper actions were not taken until after her death. There were other signs that the girl lived in precarious conditions, with a family relative telling police she often appeared hungry, unkempt, and in dirty clothes. The sentencing for Shauntaija Travis is now set for March 22.
