A woman has been handed a 20-year prison sentence for allowing her boyfriend to fatally assault her six-year-old daughter. Ashley Fagan has been convicted of permitting child abuse, endangering children, involuntary manslaughter, and obstructing justice. The tragic incident took place on April 13, 2025, at their residence.
Emergency services responded to a distress call at the family home and attempted to save the young girl’s life. Despite efforts to stabilize her condition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the child succumbed to her injuries six hours later. An autopsy revealed severe injuries indicating prolonged abuse, including signs of sexual assault, bruising, ligature marks, a lacerated liver, and healing fractures.
Initially, Fagan misled authorities about the events leading to the child’s injuries, claiming an accidental entanglement in a tree branch. However, inconsistencies in her story led to the discovery of incriminating text messages exchanged between Fagan and her deceased boyfriend, Blake Hutchinson. Hutchinson, who was also implicated in the case, took his own life before facing charges.
During the court proceedings, Eva’s grandfather expressed deep disappointment in Fagan’s failure to protect her daughter from ongoing abuse. Fagan’s lawyer emphasized that while she did not physically harm the child, she neglected her duty as a parent to ensure Eva’s safety.
Fagan pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to Eva’s death and injuries inflicted on another child in a previous incident. In a plea agreement, she was sentenced to 18 to 23½ years in prison. Judge Richard Brown condemned Fagan’s inaction as unforgivable and emphasized the gravity of allowing harm to come to one’s own child.