Not-guilty plea in case of Ohio toddler’s heroin ingestion death

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio mother has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering after authorities said her young daughter died from ingesting heroin.

Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien says 14-month-old Annabella Sagstetter died May 27 when her mother took her to a “drug house” in Columbus and the child somehow ingested heroin laced with fentanyl, a powerful painkiller.

The girl’s mother, 31-year-old Erica Maria Barley, pleaded not guilty today in Franklin County Common Pleas court and was allowed to remain free on a $15,000 bond.

If convicted, Barley faces up to 11 years in prison. Her attorney declined to comment.

State health officials say fentanyl-laced heroin is partly responsible for a record number of overdose deaths last year.