A St. Louis mother is facing a felony charge after her 2-year-old child died and an autopsy listed fentanyl as the cause of death. Prosecutors say 29-year-old Akia Pope has been charged with one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child in connection with a December 30, 2025 incident, when her toddler became unresponsive and later died at a local children's hospital. Court records state that a straw that tested positive for fentanyl was found in the room Pope shared with the child and that she admitted to using fentanyl and cocaine.
What court records say
According to First Alert 4, court documents show Pope rushed the child to St. Louis Children's Hospital on December 30, 2025, where the toddler died about 40 minutes after arriving. The outlet reports that a hospital autopsy listed the manner of death as an acute fentanyl overdose, with recent cocaine exposure noted as a contributing factor. Investigators wrote that officers found a straw in the room that tested positive for fentanyl and that Pope told police she had been with the child from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. that day.
Why fentanyl is especially dangerous for children
Emergency physicians say it does not take much fentanyl to put a young child in deadly danger, since the drug can quickly slow or stop breathing. Lindsay Clukies, an emergency medicine physician quoted by St. Louis Children's Hospital, said, "In the past few months, we're seeing a significant increase, particularly in children who are coming in and passing away." Hospitals and child-fatality reviewers urge caregivers to lock up medications and keep naloxone available, stressing that children are uniquely vulnerable to inadvertent exposure.
Local and national context
Data published by the City of St. Louis shows fentanyl is involved in nearly every local opioid fatality and that many overdoses involve multiple drugs. Nationally, a JAMA Pediatrics analysis found pediatric deaths involving fentanyl rose sharply from 1999 through 2021, with a nearly sixfold increase among children under 5 in recent years. Public-health officials frequently cite those trends when pushing for wider access to naloxone and safer storage of both medications and illicit substances in homes with children.
What the charge means
Pope is charged with one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Missouri law defines that offense as knowingly acting in a manner that creates a substantial risk to the life, body or health of a child, according to RSMo §568.045. The charge is a felony, and the case will move through the St. Louis criminal courts. Prosecutors must still prove the allegations at trial.
