Woman found in woods trying to kill daughter with fentanyl in PA, officials say
A Pennsylvania woman was sentenced to prison after officials said she tried to kill her daughter.
The 32-year-old woman pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges of attempted homicide, aiding suicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping, interference with child custody, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a May 27 news release from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.
McClatchy News is not naming the woman to protect the identity of the child.
In November 2022, the woman kidnapped her daughter from a home where the girl was under emergency care, officials said in a 2022 news release.
The woman left behind handwritten letters saying she needed “the powerful opioid to protect herself and the child and claimed that she was told by God that she was going to die soon,” officials said.
Authorities tracked the woman’s phone and found the two in a wooded area.
The child tested positive for fentanyl and opiates, officials said.
The woman was trying to kill her 8-year-old daughter with the drugs, police said, according to KDKA.
She later told a judge she believed a serial killer was after them and the best option was to end their lives her own way, TribLive reported.
“My only goal was to save my daughter from a serial killer. I did not realize I had schizophrenia until it was too late,” she said in court, according to TribLive. “If any unstoppable killer came after you, wouldn’t you make an escape plan? I promise I was just trying to save us. ...”
The woman was sentenced to serve up to 20 years in prison and will continue to receive mental health treatment throughout her incarceration.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Woman found in woods trying to kill daughter with fentanyl in PA, officials say."
