Woman sentenced to probation for baby’s fentanyl-related death

A Las Vegas judge sentenced a 32-year-old woman to probation for the fentanyl-related death of her 1-year-old son.

Although District Judge Tierra Jones granted probation for Kiera McCall, the judge ordered her to remain in custody until she is accepted into an in-patient treatment program to address her drug addiction.

“I want you to understand this is the only opportunity I’m going to give you,” Jones said. “If you come back in here you are going to do every day of this time.”

The judge said that if McCall violates the terms of her probation, she will be subject to a sentence of a year and seven months to four years in prison.

McCall initially faced a second-degree murder charge, but she pleaded guilty in November to felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse, neglect or endangerment resulting in substantial bodily harm.

She was arrested June 26, weeks after her son, Mathias McCall, died of “toxic effects of fentanyl,” according to the Clark County coroner’s office. His manner of death was ruled accidental.

McCall had told neighbors that the baby “might have gotten into some heroin under the bed,” according to an arrest report.

Defense attorney Tiffany Wacaster said Thursday that McCall had smoked fentanyl and went to sleep, and when she woke up the baby was in distress.

When McCall was arrested she was pregnant with another child. That baby, like Mathias, was born with drugs in her system, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti.

That child is currently in foster care.

“I think past behavior is indicative of future behavior, and so when we have her using and exposing yet another child to narcotics, this court must say enough is enough,” Rinetti said.

Rinetti argued for McCall to be sentenced to between five and 12½ years in prison.

Wacaster argued that McCall wasn’t “in a position to get clean” after Mathias died. She said that the time her client has been in custody has been the longest period of time she has been sober since she was 16.

“There was no bad intent, she did not intend for her child to die,” Wacaster said. “And I just ask that you give her a chance at probation.”

McCall told the judge that she went to treatment program after her son died, but she relapsed when she was released and she spent several months homeless. She said she now wants to stick to a stable treatment plan.

“I do take accountability for what happened that day,” McCall said. “Unfortunately I can’t change the past. I can just do my absolute best to make sure that that doesn’t happen ever again.”

Jones said she was not sure that any sentence would be worse than McCall having to live with knowing her child died because of her.

“These cases are always, in my personal opinion, some of the hardest ones,” Jones said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.