Mother Arrested Following The 2023 Overdose Death Of A 15-Year-Old, Charged With Child Neglect

A Stillwater mother whose 15-year-old son fatally overdosed on fentanyl in 2023 was arrested. Throughout her son’s life police say the teen's mother failed to provide him with basic care, education, and affection—and instead provided him with drugs and alcohol. 

Monday, December 9th 2024, 6:14 pm

By: News 9, Sylvia Corkill


-

A Stillwater mother whose 15-year-old son fatally overdosed on fentanyl in 2023 was arrested. 

Throughout her son’s life, police say the teen's mother failed to provide him with basic care, education, and affection—and instead provided him with drugs and alcohol. 

Documents show throughout Caden Reed Sanchez’s life, there had been a total of 22 DHS referrals.

Court filings outlined each referral, dating back to January 2009. In 2009, Sanchez was just 10 months old. 

In 2010, a reporting party told DHS that Laura Henckel threatened to “drown the child."

Then in 2014, school officials contacted DHS after Henckel refused to pick up her 6-year-old son from school after he began vomiting in class. School officials said Henckel stated she could not pick up her child because “she was having a mental breakdown and could not handle her son.”

In 2019, an 11-year-old Sanchez told DHS, “he had not had food or utilities in his house for three months so he stayed with friends.” “It seemed he never really had a chance in life,” said Stillwater Police Lt. TJ Low

On Dec. 2, 2022, Stillwater Police responded to a panicked call to 911. Police said Laura Henckel arrived home to her apartment where she found her son unresponsive in his bed. She ran to the neighbor’s apartment for help. 

911: Stillwater 911, what is your emergency?
Henckel: Wake up! Wake up!
Caller: We have a possible overdose at 1815 N. Boomer Road. 

Henckel is heard pleading with her son in the background. 

Henckel: Wake up! Wake up!

Sanchez died three days later. 

Investigators later learned Sanchez had not attended school in 70 days. “I don’t think he was an active student,” said Lt. Low. 

Reports show police found drug paraphernalia throughout the apartment. In the days following her son’s death, when questioned by police—investigators say Henckel admitted to being under the influence of meth. 

“Everybody gets addicted to one thing or another. Unfortunately, it took the life of somebody it didn’t need to,” said Lt. Low. 

The day Henkel found her son unresponsive, court filings show she told investigators she had been at Walmart where she planned to pay a man to shoplift Christmas presents for her son.

A warrant for Henckel’s arrest was issued in April. Police had been searching for her prior to her arrest in November. 

A spokesperson with the Department of Human Services issued the following statement:

“The death of this young man is a profound tragedy and Oklahoma Human Services shares in the community's mourning. There are few exceptions to the confidentiality statutes that prevent our agency from disclosing a family's child welfare involvement or case history, if any. The agency is working with law enforcement and others to support their efforts in this devastating situation.”

 If you are concerned about a child's safety, please report it by calling 1-800-522-3511.

Sylvia Corkill

Sylvia Corkill joined the News 9 team in October of 2016. If you're an early bird you can see her reporting weekdays in the field or at the desk filling in.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

December 9th, 2024

January 3rd, 2025

January 3rd, 2025

January 3rd, 2025

Top Headlines

January 3rd, 2025

January 3rd, 2025

January 3rd, 2025

January 3rd, 2025