A woman who allowed her partner to fatally abuse her six-year-old daughter has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ashley Fagan will serve a term ranging from 18 to 23½ years after admitting guilt to multiple charges related to the death of Eva Bretz. These charges include permitting child abuse, endangering children, involuntary manslaughter, and obstructing justice.
Authorities were called to the family residence on April 13, 2025, following a 911 call. Upon finding Eva in critical condition, efforts were made to save her at the scene before she was rushed to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Despite medical intervention, Eva succumbed to her injuries about six hours later.
An autopsy revealed that Eva had sustained long-term injuries consistent with sexual assault, including bruising, ligature marks on her neck, a lacerated liver, and healing fractures in her ribs and pelvis. The coroner’s report from Franklin County indicated that these injuries had likely occurred over a period of weeks to months leading up to her death. Traces of fentanyl were also found in Eva’s system.
Initially, Fagan claimed that Eva had been playing outside the night before her death. She alleged that Eva got caught in a tree branch, which impeded her breathing. However, surveillance footage did not support this account, prompting Fagan to admit to fabricating information. Text messages retrieved from Fagan’s communication with her boyfriend, Blake Hutchinson, revealed a concerted effort to align their stories regarding Eva’s injuries.
During the plea hearing, Eva’s grandfather condemned Fagan for neglecting to protect her daughter from prolonged physical and sexual abuse. Fagan’s lawyer emphasized that while she did not physically harm Eva, she failed in her fundamental duty as a parent to safeguard her child.
Fagan entered a guilty plea in December for her involvement in Eva’s death and injuries suffered by another child in 2023. Hutchinson, Fagan’s boyfriend, who was also implicated in Eva’s death, died by suicide before being apprehended.
In a plea agreement, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Brown sentenced Fagan to 18 to 23½ years in prison. Expressing emotional distress, Judge Brown criticized Fagan’s inaction as “unjustifiable” and “heinous,” highlighting the gravity of the offense, particularly in failing to protect her own child.