A woman has been given a prison sentence of 20 years for allowing her boyfriend to fatally abuse her six-year-old daughter. Ashley Fagan will serve between 18 to 23½ years in jail after admitting guilt to multiple charges related to the death of Eva Bretz. The incident occurred on April 13, 2025, when authorities responded to a distress call at the family residence and attempted to rescue the child, who was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

An autopsy revealed that Eva had sustained severe injuries over an extended period, including signs of sexual assault, bruising, ligature marks on her neck, a lacerated liver, and healing fractures in her ribs and pelvis. Traces of fentanyl were also found in her system. Fagan initially misled law enforcement about the circumstances surrounding Eva’s injuries but later confessed after incriminating text messages with her boyfriend, Blake Hutchinson, were recovered.

During the court proceedings, Eva’s grandfather condemned Fagan for failing to protect her own daughter from prolonged physical and sexual abuse. Fagan’s defense attorney emphasized that while Fagan did not physically harm Eva, she neglected her duty as a parent to safeguard her child. Fagan pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse, endangerment, obstruction of justice, and manslaughter in connection to Eva’s death and harm inflicted on another child in 2023.

Fagan received a prison term of 18 to 23½ years as part of a plea deal, with Judge Richard Brown expressing emotional dismay at Fagan’s lack of action to shield her daughter from harm. He criticized her actions as “unjustifiable” and “heinous,” highlighting the severity of the case. Fagan’s boyfriend, Hutchinson, who was also implicated in Eva’s death, died by suicide before facing charges.