Johnson County mother pleads guilty to felony murder in toddler’s fentanyl overdose
Johnson County prosecutors on Monday announced that the mother of a toddler found dead of fentanyl intoxication has pleaded guilty to second-degree felony murder in connection with the child’s November 2020 death.
Shelly Christine Vallejo, 31, pleaded guilty to the felony murder charge Monday. She was scheduled to be sentenced in late February.
Prosecutors say the investigation began with a 911 call that brought police officers to a Merriam residence on Nov. 14, 2020. Inside the home the officers found a child, identified in court documents as JLM, who was unresponsive and died shortly after.
Medical examiners later found that fentanyl was in the child’s system and concluded that the powerful synthetic opioid caused the death, according to prosecutors.
In Kansas, murder charges may be filed against a person in certain cases where a non-violent crime leads to the death of another person.
In April 2021, 28-year-old Jean Pierre Morales, the child’s father, and Vallejo were both charged in Johnson County District Court with felony crimes, including murder and child endangerment. Each was ordered held in the Johnson County jail on a $1 million bond.
Last month, Morales pleaded guilty to distributing drugs resulting in a death, a felony. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
