A St. Paul mother pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter for her 7-year-old daughter's fatal fentanyl overdose.
Shauntaija Travis, 28, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter by culpable negligence. If accepted, Travis' plea agreement would grant her sentence of three years while dismissing another manslaughter charge.
Za'Maiya Travis was found dead last March — days before she was scheduled to move in with a relative who reported concerns about the child's health to Ramsey County child protection officials.
A representative for family of Za'Maiya's father disagreed with the plea, according to court documents, saying the time served would be too low. Representatives for the mother's side don't want her to serve prison time at all.
Judge Jacob Kraus will decide whether to accept the plea during Travis' sentencing hearing on March 22.
Charging documents say officers and medics were sent to the Travis home about 6:40 a.m. on March 31 for a death. They arrived on the 800 block of Sherburne Avenue to find Za'Maiya dead on an air mattress. She was cold to the touch.
Shauntaija and her boyfriend were reportedly emotional and distressed, telling authorities that the child was alive when in bed about 2 a.m. but would not move when they tried to wake her for school hours later.
Officers searched the home and found straws with white powder residue, a baggie of suspected narcotics crumbs and a blue 30 mg oxycodone pill. Tests by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed that the straws contained cocaine and the pills contained fentanyl along with a chemical that acts as a precursor to fentanyl.
