'Unforgivable choices': Mom who allowed fatal 'corporal punishment' that severed 6-year-old's liver will have a long time to think about her misdeeds

A 33-year-old parent successful Ohio who stood by and did thing arsenic her fellow bushed and strangled her 6-year-old girl for weeks if not months, ultimately starring to her death, is headed to prison.

Court records amusement Ashley Fagan connected Friday pleaded blameworthy to 2 counts each of permitting kid maltreatment and endangering children and 1 number of involuntary manslaughter and obstructing justness successful the decease of Eva Bretz. A justice sentenced her to betwixt 18 and 23 1/2 years down bars. Prosecutors dropped the execution complaint arsenic portion of the plea deal.

Officers with the Columbus Division of Police responded to a 911 telephone astatine a location located successful the 4000 artifact of Migration Lane, Columbus, Ohio, connected April 13, 2025, CBS affiliate WBNS reported. Upon arriving astatine the scene, archetypal responders located Eva and instantly began lifesaving procedures.

Eva was transported to Nationwide Children's Hospital, wherever she was admitted successful captious condition. Per the report, the kid was suffering from interior injuries — including a severed liver — and outer injuries — including ligature marks astir her cervix — that doctors deemed to beryllium life-threatening.

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Unfortunately, Eva succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dormant astir six hours aft she was admitted to the hospital. The Franklin County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy and reportedly determined that Eva's mode of decease was a homicide.

Fagan claimed her girl was playing with a person the nighttime earlier and got a histrion subdivision caught successful her hoodie which restricted her breathing but seemed good otherwise, according to a courtroom study from the Columbus Dispatch.

But a constabulary probe revealed her communicative was hogwash. Surveillance video from the flat analyzable showed Eva was ne'er extracurricular playing the nighttime before. Per the Dispatch, detectives recovered substance messages betwixt her and her fellow Blake Hutchinson from arsenic aboriginal arsenic October 2024 that showed they were trying to get their stories consecutive astir Eva suffered her horrific injuries.

Eva's gramps spoke earlier the tribunal during Fagan's plea hearing.

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"The 1 idiosyncratic connected this satellite that should person had her champion involvement astatine bosom did not instrumentality immoderate steps to support her, and it could person been done truthful easily," Kevin Coles reportedly said.

While reiterating Fagan did not physically wounded her child, her lawyer said she inactive bears large responsibility.

"She's a quality being who has made unforgivable choices," lawyer Terry Sherman said.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Brown, a begetter and gramps himself, became affectional erstwhile imposing his sentence, according to the Dispatch.

"I cannot ideate taking a beingness oregon watching portion idiosyncratic other takes the beingness of a child, peculiarly your ain child," the justice said.

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As Law&Crime previously reported, a transcript of the coroner's study obtained by the Dispatch provided further details astir Eva's death, reportedly concluding that the 6-year-old was apt subjected to terrible carnal maltreatment for respective weeks oregon adjacent months earlier she yet died. Tests showed that the kid besides had fentanyl successful her strategy and was the unfortunate of intersexual battle anterior to her death.

In summation to the severed liver, Eva besides sustained blunt unit trauma to her abdomen. She had aggregate fractures to her ribs and pelvis that were successful antithetic stages of healing, a telltale motion of ongoing abuse, constabulary said.

According to the Dispatch, Fagan was arrested aft she and Hutchinson provided conflicting stories astir however Eva sustained her fatal injuries. Hutchinson was besides indicted successful transportation with Eva's death, but killed himself conscionable anterior to authorities placing him nether arrest,  McClatchy News reported.

The indictment, a transcript of which was obtained by the Dispatch, alleges that Eva's injuries were the "proximate effect of permitting the kid to beryllium abused, to beryllium tortured, to beryllium administered corporal punishment oregon different carnal disciplinary measure, oregon to beryllium physically restrained successful a cruel mode oregon for a prolonged period."

Fagan besides faced charges successful transportation with a 1-year-old kid who was the unfortunate of "serious carnal harm" betwixt November and December 2023.

Jerry Lambe contributed to this report