A mother and her 10-year-old daughter in Mississippi allegedly entered into a pact to end their lives by overdosing on pills. However, only the child followed through with the plan, which nearly resulted in her death. The mother, 37-year-old Brittney Leigh Hensley, is now in custody and faces charges of aggravated child abuse.
On the evening of July 6, the Ocean Springs Police Department received a distress call about an unresponsive child at the Studio 6 motel, where Hensley and her daughter had been residing. Upon arrival, first responders discovered the unconscious girl surrounded by various pill capsules and empty prescription medication bottles, all of which were prescribed to Hensley, according to a police statement.
The child was immediately rushed to a local hospital where she was intubated and later airlifted to another medical facility. After regaining consciousness, the girl informed the police about the suicide pact she had made with her mother and her subsequent overdose.
Ocean Springs Police Chief Ryan Lemaire shared with the Biloxi Sun Herald that the mother panicked when her daughter did not wake up after ingesting the pills. “She had this suicide pact with her daughter, and the daughter took the pills, but (Hensley) didn’t,” Lemaire said.
The child is currently under the care of Mississippi Child Protective Services and her recovery is ongoing. Hensley was scheduled to meet with police detectives and CPS investigators but fled to Alabama. A warrant for her arrest was issued in September.
On October 15, the Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers announced Hensley’s arrest by the Huntsville Police Department in Alabama. She has since been extradited back to Jackson County Jail, where she is being held on a $500,000 bond. It remains unclear if Hensley has legal representation.