COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The mother of a 4-year-old girl who died in 2022 after she overdosed on fentanyl was sentenced to prison on Thursday in an El Paso County courtroom.

Emma Staton, 24, was arrested in July 2022 on charges of child abuse resulting in death, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia in connection with the death of her 4-year-old child Acelynn Staton-Contreras.

The charges stem from July 13, 2022, when Fountain police officers were dispatched to Love’s Truck Stop at 5505 Travel Plaza Drive. When they arrived, they found a woman and an unconscious juvenile female. Officers performed CPR but the child was pronounced deceased at the scene. Staton was identified as a suspect that same day and was arrested. She was held on a $500,000 bond.

Based on the investigation, authorities determined Staton had left fentanyl pills on a bathroom windowsill within reach of her daughter, according to an arrest affidavit. She woke up to find her daughter gasping for air and throwing up. She administered Narcan and called 911 around 9 p.m. from an iPad but hung up before asking for help. Deputies responded to the home, where the woman said she dialed 911 by accident and nothing was wrong, the affidavit reads.

Affidavit: 4-year-old found fentanyl pills on window sill

Within an hour, she had administered another dose of Narcan and decided to leave the home for the hospital, with her boyfriend behind the wheel. Staton called 911 a second time. At this point, the child had “turned blue,” the affidavit reads.

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They stopped at the truck stop, where authorities met them and tried to save the girl.

After she had been pronounced deceased, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office was called out to take possession of the girl’s body and later performed the autopsy, which showed brain swelling consistent with an overdose.

Fountain Police Chief Christopher Herberer later told Denver7 news partner News5 that the death was “fentanyl-related.”

In April, Staton pleaded guilty in an El Paso County courtroom as part of a deal with prosecutors. On Thursday, she was sentenced to 27 years in prison for child abuse resulting in death, 6 months for possession of a controlled substance, and a $100 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia.

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