Fort Worth children’s dentist arrested in overdose death of 4-year-old girl
A Fort Worth pediatric dentist is accused of giving a 4-year-old girl a fatal drug overdose during a medically unnecessary procedure in April, according to a warrant for her arrest.
The dentist, 48-year-old Chrishelle Hemphill, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of serious bodily injury to a child, police said.
The child, identified in the warrant as Aithana Rodriguez Arriaga, was being treated by Hemphill earlier this year for a tongue-tie removal procedure, or frenulectomy.
Arriaga’s relative brought her to Hemphill’s practice, Cuddle Kids Dental Care, after a teacher at Arriaga’s preschool suggested the girl might have a tongue tie due to her having issues with pronouncing certain letters, according to the warrant.
In a later interview, Arriaga’s primary-care pediatrician told detectives she had examined the girl and found no evidence of a tongue tie before she was taken to the dental practice, police wrote in the warrant. An ear, nose and throat specialist also examined the girl prior to the dental visit and found the same.
During Arriaga’s autopsy, medical examiners found her blood to contain the opiate Demerol at 793 nanograms per milliliter, according to the warrant. Medical examiners later told the detective that a range of 200 to 500 ng/mL was an appropriate therapeutic dose for an adult.
The medical examiner also explained to the detective that the dosage of Demerol found in Arriaga’s blood would be toxic for an adult, according to the warrant. Medical records revealed that Arriaga had been given two other sedation medications and nitrous oxide gas in addition to the Demerol.
All of the medications administered to the girl were given by Hemphill, according to the warrant.
An investigation by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners found that while the three medications were administered in non-fatal doses, Hemphill failed to acknowledge the way the drugs would act when combined, according to the warrant.
Another pediatric dentist who reviewed Arriaga’s case notes told detectives the maximum dosage of Demerol that he would have given the child was 10 milligrams, according to the warrant. Hemphill is documented to have administered 30 milligrams.
During attempts to resuscitate the girl, doctors at the practice administered Flumazenil, a drug intended to reverse the effects of benzodiazepine medications, according to the warrant. Because Demerol is an opiate, doctors would have needed to administer Narcan to reverse its effects, detectives wrote.
During a search warrant executed before Hemphill’s arrest, the dentist could not show detectives where the practice stored its Narcan, police wrote in the warrant.
“Throughout this investigation I have learned from Hemphill’s own statements, her staff’s statements and from medical professionals that there was evident neglect on Hemphill’s part that led to Aithana’s death,” Detective J. Spragins wrote in the warrant.
In addition to administering the toxic combination of medications, Hemphill failed to recognize and treat signs of respiratory distress, and administered the incorrect reversal medication for the kind of drug the girl had been given, Spragins wrote.
If convicted, Hemphill faces 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 10:33 PM.
