JESSIKA HABERLE - 3 yo (2009) - Sparks NV

A Sparks mother is guilty of second-degree murder in the methadone overdose of her 3-year-old daughter, a jury decided Monday.

Tracie Schuler was charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of child abuse and neglect resulting in death, one count of child abuse and neglect and one count of child endangerment in the Feb. 23, 2009 death of her daughter, Jessika Haberle.

Schuler pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The state alleged that Schuler either fed her daughter methadone or did not properly secure the drug, whereby Schuler's negligence caused the death of her daughter.

On the night of Jessika's death, emergency personnel responded to her home on Lepori Way in Sparks to find Jessika unresponsive and without a pulse.

Jessika was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead the same night.

An autopsy report found methadone in Jessika's blood at a level nine times a lethal limit. Hair analysis indicated Jessika had ingested methadone on at least two occasions in the six months preceding her death, according to court files and opening statements.

Schuler had been taking prescribed methadone, a synthetic drug used in the treatment of opioid addiction, for a period of years preceding her daughter's death.

In opening statements, defense counsel did not object to the fact that methadone was found in Jessika's blood but did, however, question the levels of the drug in her system and the reliability of the hair analysis.

In a pretrial statement, Schuler said her daughter's ingestion of methadone was accidental.

In addition to the murder charge, the jury found Schuler guilty on one count of child endangerment and one count of child abuse and neglect resulting in death. She was found not guilty on one count of child abuse and neglect.

Sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 14 in the courtroom of presiding Judge Steven Kosach. Prosecutor Dan Greco said Schuler will serve a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.

Schuler's bail was revoked immediately and she was taken to jail by sheriff's deputies. She could be seen crying upon the announcement of the second-degree guilty verdict.

A friend who testified on Schuler's behalf, Richard Kuhl, left the courtroom clearly shaken. Family members also expressed shock, and one of them angrily stormed out of the courtroom when Schuler was taken away.