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Two arrested in death of Leavenworth boy

By Greg Bebermeyer

08/19/2025

(KAIR)--Two Kansas City, Missouri residents have been arrested in the fentanyl-related death of a Leavenworth boy.

Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens announced in a release that 40-year-old Tara Huerta was arrested Friday in Leavenworth and 34-year-old Kenneth Hedgecock was arrested Monday in Clay County, Missouri.

The pair face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child endangerment, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of certain drug precursors and drug paraphernalia.

A 3-year-old Leavenworth boy was found unresponsive in a Leavenworth apartment on March 26.

He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy revealed the boy died from acute fentanyl poisoning.

Additional crime scene processing by agents with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation revealed the presence of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine in the apartment.

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