A Missouri daycare director has been indicted after authorities say she caused the death of a 3-year-old boy with autism by restraining him under a weighted blanket.
Tiffany Hedrick, 40, from Park Hills, was indicted by a St. Francois County grand jury on Aug. 14, according to a release from the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office. She now faces charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death.
The indictment, obtained by PEOPLE, alleges Hedrick killed little Conrad Ashcraft “by asphyxiation” after leaving him face-down under a weighted blanket with his arms trapped. Prosecutors claim Hedrick knowingly caused the boy to suffer physical injury that led to his death, with the weighted blanket described as a “dangerous instrument.”
Conrad was found when his mother came to pick him up at Poppy’s Playhouse 2 in Park Hills, according to KDSK.
The boy’s father, Joshua Ashcraft, later filed a wrongful death petition against Hedrick and daycare owner Spring Gray, who also served as a city councilwoman before resigning. The lawsuit claims Hedrick first put Conrad on his back, tucking the sides of his blanket under him so tightly that his arms were pinned. When he struggled, Hedrick allegedly flipped him onto his stomach “to further restrain” him, tightening the blanket again and then covering him with an 18-pound weighted blanket that wasn’t even his.
According to the lawsuit, the weighted blanket covered Conrad’s face. Staff allegedly used such blankets to “subdue small children at naptime.” It also claims Hedrick secluded the boy from other children by moving him into the hallway and pressed her legs over his to keep him still. After he stopped struggling, she reportedly didn’t check on him again until she left the daycare that afternoon.
His mother, Tara Williams, has also filed her own lawsuit accusing the daycare of negligence. She claims an employee used their legs to apply weight and pressure on her son’s chest and abdomen in an effort to force him to sleep. Williams alleges the daycare failed to properly train or supervise staff and even approved the use of these restraint methods.
Conrad’s aunt, Lacey Hardie, told KDSK the toddler was nonverbal and on the autism spectrum. His obituary described him as a sweet little boy who loved swimming, Toy Story, Cocomelon, Ms. Rachel, the Cars movie, and pizza. “He also loved spending time with his parents and his family,” the obituary said.
Hedrick was arrested and is being held in St. Francois County jail without bond. Gray resigned her city council seat just days after the tragedy. Williams has accused the daycare of failing to recognize her son was suffocating and leaving him on the floor for hours without checking his well-being.
Gray’s attorney has not responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment. Hedrick’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, issued a statement saying, “We have entered a plea of not guilty and look forward to defending Tiffany.”