Conrad Ashcraft, a 3-year-old boy from Missouri, died while at daycare, and now his grieving parents wait for the justice to be served.
The tragedy took place on May 16, 2025, when the workers at the daycare found him unresponsive under a blanket. The boy, who had autism, allegedly suffocated under the weighted blanket.
A St. Francois County grand jury eventually handed down an indictment against Tiffany Hedrick, charging her with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and child abuse resulting in death. Hedrick maintained her innocence, pleading not guilty.
The indictment, reviewed by People, alleges that Conrad suffocated because Hedrick pinned him face down under a weighted blanket, holding his arms down.
The indictment further alleges that Hedrick “knowingly caused the child to suffer physical injury and that (the child) died as a result of injuries sustained from this conduct,” allegedly using a “dangerous instrument, namely a weighted blanket.”
According to prosecutors, Hedrick pulled Conrad away from the other kids during nap time, taking him out into the hallway because she claimed he wouldn’t go to sleep.
Further, court documents show that Hendrick put the blanket over Conrad and then restrained him against the floor using her legs until he stopped moving.
Conrad’s mother, Tara Williams, is also holding the daycare, Poppy’s Playhouse 2, accountable for poor training and dangerous oversight, alleging the facility condoned physical pressure tactics to force the children to fall asleep.
According to the family, staff left Conrad trapped under the blanket for at least four hours after his death without ever checking on him
Conrad was a sweet little boy who found wonder in the little things, his obituary says. He loved swimming, Toy Story, Ms. Rachel, Cocomelon, and the movie Cars.
”He also loved pizza and enjoyed spending time with his parents and his family.”
In September 2025, a St. Francois County judge lowered Tiffany Hedrick’s bond to $200,000 following a month behind bars without bond. If released, the former daycare worker will face strict conditions, including house arrest with GPS monitoring, no unsupervised contact with children under thirteen, and travel limited exclusively to work, court dates, and legal meetings.
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Conrad’s family was furious over this decision, with his aunt, Lacey Hardie, describing the possibility of Hedrick being released as “a punch-in-the-gut feeling.”
Hendrick’s lawyer on the other hand claimed his client was not a danger to the public or a flight risk.
Following the tragedy, the daycare has allegedly been closed, with all the signs removed.
According to a family member, the defense claimed a computer hack was to blame for failing to file a venue change motion on time during a January 2026 hearing. With the defense also asserting that the court had no open dates left for the remainder of the year, Tara and her grieving family were left facing an agonizing wait, with the next court date pushed all the way out to January 25, 2027.
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