Hays infant dies of meth overdose, father arrested

HAYS, Kansas (KWCH) – On April 2, 2024 at 12:15 p.m., emergency personnel were dispatched to the Roadway Inn – Room #206, 3404 Vine Street, Hays, Kansas 67601, for a child not breathing. Hays Police Officers arrived after Ellis County EMS and observed emergency personnel performing CPR on a 5-month-old infant. Abraham Duran Leon, the child’s father, was also in the motel room. The child was transported to Hays Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The child was identified as Fernando Leon III, DOB: 11/10/2023.

The Hays Police Department and the Ellis County Coroner’s Office investigated the child’s death. The autopsy report showed that the child had methamphetamine in his system and died as a result of methamphetamine poisoning.

On June 17, 2024, Abraham Duran Leon of Hays, Kansas was arrested by the Hays Police Department for the premeditated murder of the child. Mr. Leon is currently being held in the Ellis County Jail and is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The investigation into the child’s death is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective JB Burkholder at (785) 625-1030.

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