BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A woman and her boyfriend were each sentenced to 30 years in prison after the woman’s 4-year-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose in 2024.
Rashad Roberto Carmena and Shakeria Denise Hudson were found guilty of murder in the second degree and cruelty to children in the second degree in Glynn County Superior Court, according to a news release from the office of Keith Higgins, the District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit.
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On February 21, 2024, Charlee Hudson, 4, died of a fentanyl overdose after her mother, Hudson, and her mother’s boyfriend, Carmena, drove around all night with the child while they consumed drugs and alcohol. Charlee had five times the amount of fentanyl in her system that can kill a grown adult, the release stated.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Keagan Waystack.
“Unfortunately, Charlee’s mother and the man who called himself her stepfather were more interested in using drugs than caring for the innocent child that looked to them for care,” Waystack said in the news release.
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Brunswick Police Department Detectives Melissa Howell and Terrence Tanner testified on behalf of the State that Charlee had been dead for several hours by the time an adult in the house decided to check on her safety.
The State presented evidence that Hudson and Carmena were aware that they were bringing the child into a home where drug users and drugs were known to be used, the release said.
Carmena and Hudson were sentenced to 30 years without parole to serve in the Department of Corrections by the Honorable Judge Roger B. Lane.
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