Travis Tuttle
A non-custodial parent whose 8-year-old son died of an overdose after unknowingly injesting his father’s illegal narcotics was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday.
Travis Tuttle, 38, 4373 Serenity Drive, pleaded guilty last October to neglect of a dependent resulting in death as a Level 1 felony. The charge, filed in Bartholomew Superior Court 1, was in connection with the March 21, 2021 death of his son, Lealyn Tuttle. A lesser Level 6 felony charge was dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.
Lealyn Tuttle
Toxicology reports state that Lealyn, a Clifty Creek second grader, died from acute fentanyl and diphenhydramine intoxication while staying the night with his father on a weekend visit.
Detectives found a razor blade along with aluminum foil containing fentanyl residue near the boy’s body, according to court documents. A search of Tuttle’s residence in the Briarwood Apartments complex also turned up fentanyl in a bedroom table, investigating detective Sgt. Tom Foust of the Columbus Police Dept. testified Wednesday.
When the victim was found on the living room floor, his mouth showed a degree of frothing, as well as a dark substance that is indicitive of a drug overdose, the police sergeant said.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay said one of her disappointments was that there was nobody to speak for Lealyn during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.
“The fact is we have a young child who lost his life because one of the main people entrusted with his care failed him miserably,” Holden-Kay said.
The defendant’s cellphone contained photos and videos of the victim with foil on his teeth and gums. Investigators say it appears the boy was using the foil that contained fentanyl to imitate having jewelry in his mouth, Foust said. The boy posted the video to a social media site, Foust said.
When Tuttle agreed last fall to plead guilty to the Level 1 felony, prosecutors agreed to a maximum of 30 years. That is the presumptive sentence for a Level 1 felony when both mitigating and aggravating factors in a case balance each other out, Judge James Worton said.
Describing the case as an “absolute tragedy,” Worton said it stood out that courts had recommended the defemdamt undergo a substance abuse evaluation after three seperate arrests that had taken place since he was a juvenile.
That shows Tuttle had a number of opportunities for addiction treatment that he didn’t take seriously, the judge said.
One of the few mitigating factors Worton said was the defendant’s failing health. Public defender Benjamin Loheide said his client suffers from multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis, an inflammation that damages the optic nerve.
“As tragic as this case is, and as much as I believe you are fully accountable for what happened because of your actions and neglect, I don’t think that, in any way, you intended the death of your son,” Worton told the defendant.
However, if Tuttle was given anything less than the 30-year advisory sentence, “it would depreciate the seriousness of this offense,” the judge said.
