Kenneth C. Hedgecock pleaded no contest Monday to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of aggravated endangering a child. He was found guilty on both counts, according to a release from the office of Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

Hedgecock, along with 40-year-old Tara A. Huerta and 30-year-old Briana R.M. Davis, was charged in connection with the March 26, 2025, death of Davis’ 3-year-old child, who was in the care of Hedgecock and Huerta at the time of the incident.

All three defendants have now been convicted in the case.

According to court documents, a Leavenworth Police Department officer was dispatched at approximately 4:32 a.m. to an apartment near Limit Street and Martin Luther King Drive for a first-aid assist. Upon arrival, officers observed the 3-year-old child lying on the living room floor while emergency responders performed chest compressions. The child was transported to an area hospital in Leavenworth by paramedics. While at the hospital, the victim was pronounced dead.

During the investigation, officers contacted Huerta and Hedgecock. Huerta told police that Davis had been at the apartment on March 25 and left the victim in their care. The child had been sleeping on the couch.

Huerta and Hedgecock admitted to using drugs while the child was inside the apartment. They told investigators that around midnight on March 26, they noticed the child was breathing differently and appeared to be having a bad dream. Hedgecock yelled the child’s name, and the child opened his eyes and looked at him before going back to sleep.

Hedgecock later told investigators that at approximately 4:20 a.m., he woke to check on the child and realized something was wrong. He woke Huerta, and the two observed that the child was no longer breathing. They then called 911.

Investigators collected multiple items of evidence from the apartment, which were submitted to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory for testing. Swabs taken from the couch where the child had been sleeping tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl. A small baggie with residue found under the couch tested positive for methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl. A corner tie recovered from a couch cup holder tested positive for methamphetamine.

An autopsy determined the victim’s cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity.

Hedgecock’s sentencing is 11 a.m. April 1.

Davis’ sentencing is 11 a.m. March 11 on charges of abandonment of a child, aggravated battery, and endangering a child.

Huerta’s sentencing is 1 p.m. March 27 on convictions of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated endangering a child.