Daycare Worker Charged with Murder After Mom Finds 3-Year-Old Dead Under Weighted Blanket

Tiffany Hedrick, 40, was indicted Thursday on one count of second-degree murder, one count of child abuse resulting in death, and one count of armed criminal action. She is being held at the St. Francois County Adult Detention Center without bond.

The arrest comes three months after the May 16 death of 3-year-old Conrad Ashcraft, a nonverbal autistic child in the care of Poppy's Playhouse, a public daycare facility in Park Hills.

"The death of a child is a tragedy that shakes the very core of a community," said St. Francois County Sheriff Jeffrey Cites in a statement received by the outlet. "As sheriff, I appreciate that patience and understanding shown by community members that refrained from rushing to judgment, allowing the judicial process to unfold as it should."

Fox affiliate KTVI reports that the legal documents related to Hedrick's indictment list Conrad's cause of death as asphyxiation. According to the court filing, Hedrick allegedly placed the child and left him face down underneath an 18-pound weighted blanket with his arms immobilized. The indictment claims those actions caused his death by asphyxiation.

She allegedly sat with her own legs draped across his while rubbing his back before leaving him there, per lawsuits filed by Conrad's parents, never checking on him again because she purportedly thought he was sleeping.

The case gained widespread attention in the St. Francois County community, leading to the resignation of the daycare's owner, Spring Gray, from the Park Hills city council, per KSDK. Additionally, Poppy's Playhouse saw its license suspended as it was investigated by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Meanwhile, KTVI notes that the state licensing inspection revealed the boy was left under the blanket for four hours, with no one checking on him, leading to community outcry that more people should be arrested and held accountable.

Even as the former worker is facing criminal charges, Williams had already filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her late son against the daycare that employed her. In the May 26 filing in St. Francois County, she alleges that the daycare knowingly approved of the technique Hedrick used that led to Conrad's death.

Williams claimed that her son sustained a "fatal injury" as a result of the defendant's negligence, further alleging that Hedrick used her legs to apply pressure to her son's chest or abdomen in an attempt to get him to sleep, per CrimeOnline at the time.

According to court documents, Conrad had been wrapped in an 18-pound blanket and left in a hallway, per the outlet, with no one checking on him for four hours because it was believed he was sleeping.

The lawyer who had been representing Hedrick in this lawsuit filed papers to withdraw from the case, claiming that Hedrick had stopped communicating with him, according to court documents reviewed by KSDK.

The news station further reports that Conrad's father also filed a lawsuit against the daycare facility independently.

In response to the death of Conrad Ashcraft, the nonprofit group The Uvalde Foundation for Kids is proposing new legislation for the state of Missouri that could work to prevent future tragedies.

"The safety and welfare of children placed in these facilities need to be the priority," said founder Daniel Chapin, referring to daycares. "Their livelihood usurps privacy issues, which themselves can be addressed effectively within this legislation."

Dubbing their initiative Conrad's Law, the Uvalde Foundation is seeking new legislation that would apply to all licensed daycare facilities throughout the state, per KTVI's reporting in May.

The proposal calls for a mandate that all daycares have cameras installed to document interactions between employees and the children in their care, and that the footage from these cameras is stored for a minimum of 90 days.

After the Uvalde Foundation presented the bill to State Representative Cecelie Williams of Jefferson County, she expressed her support to KSDK, telling the outlet, "We have a crisis in childcare and not having enough workers."

In the case of Conrad's death, in particular, Williams added, "Weighted blankets have been helpful for special needs, but the weight blanket on Conrad was 18.5 pounds. That's over half his body weight."

Conrad's Law proposal also seeks to provide training for staff members caring for neurodivergent and special needs children. Additionally, the proposal offers legal safeguards for anyone, employee or otherwise, reporting safety concerns.

"It's to honor Conrad Ashcraft and we want to make sure that we ensure the protection of every child whenever they're in a daycare setting," Williams said of the proposed legislation. She further said that the bill would be draft in October and filed in January for the next legislative session.