A Mississippi mother coerced her 10-year-old daughter into a suicide pact and gave the little girl sleeping pills while not taking any herself, authorities said.
Ocean Springs Police Chief Ryan Lemaire said that police issued a warrant for the arrest of Brittney Leigh Hensley, 37, in September, two months after the incident, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported on Thursday.
She was finally taken into custody on October 15 in Huntsville, Alabama, and was extradited to Mississippi this week.
Lemaire said Hensley fled the state shortly after police responded to a medical emergency in July at the extended stay motel where she and her daughter were staying.
“She had this suicide pact with her daughter, and the daughter took the pills, but she didn’t,” Lemaire said. “So, the momma started freaking out when her daughter wouldn’t wake up.”
Paramedics took the victim to a local hospital and told police about the suicide pact when she regained consciousness.
Hensley was scheduled to meet with investigators and Child Protection Services but ran away to Alabama, where she has relatives, before that meeting took place.
Hensley has been charged with aggravated child abuse, Law&Crime said, and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
The little girl remains in the custody of Child Protection Services.
Hensley was previously charged with defrauding TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, in 2022, WAAY reported. The disposition of that case is not known.
