A Knoxville mother has been sentenced to a decade in prison after what was supposed to be a family hospital visit ended in a fentanyl overdose that left her 16-year-old daughter permanently disabled. Prosecutors said 47-year-old Stacy Renata Boles brought a bag of fentanyl into a University of Tennessee Medical Center room in April 2022, where her husband was a patient. Hospital staff ultimately revived all three family members with naloxone, but the teen suffered catastrophic, lifelong injuries. The victim’s father and co-defendant, Dustin Boles, died while the case was still pending.
What prosecutors said
According to a press release from the Knox County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors told jurors that Boles smuggled fentanyl into the UTMC room to share with her husband. A hospital staff member later found the teenager unresponsive and called a Code Blue, triggering a scramble to save all three family members.
The District Attorney’s statement underscored that "Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues have been the top drug found in overdose death cases in Knox County since 2016," a line used by prosecutors to drive home just how dangerous the local drug supply has become.
Sentence and charges
On Monday, Judge Scott Green ordered Boles to serve 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury found her guilty of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, as reported by WVLT. The three-day trial focused on the April 26, 2022 visit to UTMC in which all three family members overdosed and were given naloxone.
The prosecution team included Assistant District Attorneys Franklin Ammons and Heather Ens, who led the case at trial, according to WOKI.
Legal context
Because the victim was a minor, Boles was charged with aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect. The District Attorney’s Office notes that these are Class B felonies that carry sentencing ranges of eight to twelve years without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors told jurors that those statutory ranges guided the state’s recommendation and informed the court’s decision to impose a 10-year term.
Overdose trend in Knox County
The case lands in the middle of a broader overdose crisis in Knox County. Last year, the county recorded 272 suspected overdose deaths, a figure highlighted in Hoodline’s January review of the District Attorney’s live overdose dashboard. Midyear reporting from WATE notes a multi-year decline from the 2022 peak, even as fentanyl continues to dominate local toxicology reports.
Prosecutors and local officials have framed Boles’ sentence as a blunt message about accountability when minors are exposed to lethal synthetic opioids, and as a reminder that Knox County’s fight against fentanyl is far from over. They say the verdict closes a painful chapter for the family while spotlighting the DA’s task force work and the county’s ongoing overdose surveillance and prevention efforts.
