A Missouri day care worker has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder after allegedly suffocating a 3-year-old boy to death by restraining his arms and covering him with an 18-pound weighted blanket.
According to court documents, 40-year-old Tiffany Hedrick was indicted by a St. Francois County grand jury on charges of child abuse resulting in death, armed criminal action, and second-degree murder. Investigators allege Hedrick was responsible for the care of 3-year-old Conrad Ashcraft on May 16 at Poppy’s Playhouse 2 in Park Hills, about 65 miles south of St. Louis.
The indictment claims Hedrick placed Conrad face down, bound his arms using his blanket, and covered him entirely — including his face — with a weighted blanket that didn’t belong to him or his family. Prosecutors say the blanket, weighing over 18 pounds, was used by the day care to “subdue small children at nap time.” The medical examiner ruled Conrad died from asphyxiation.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Conrad’s father alleges that Hedrick first tucked the toddler’s personal blanket tightly around his body to immobilize his arms, then flipped him onto his stomach when he struggled. She allegedly tightened the blanket further before placing the weighted blanket over him.
Shockingly, the lawsuit also claims Conrad lay dead on the floor for hours without anyone noticing. Nap time reportedly began around 12:30 p.m., and when his mother arrived around 4:15 p.m., she found her son still lying where Hedrick had forced him to sleep — already deceased.
Conrad’s aunt, Lacey Hardie, told KSDK that the little boy was nonverbal and had autism, describing the situation as a “nightmare” knowing he couldn’t ask for help.
The day care’s owner, Park Hills Ward 2 Councilwoman Spring Gray, resigned from her council position following Conrad’s death. The facility now faces a civil lawsuit in addition to the criminal case against Hedrick.
Hedrick remains in custody at the St. Francois County Jail without bond and is scheduled to appear in court on August 22.
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Author: thedailycrime1
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