Indianapolis mother sentenced to 6 years for child’s fentanyl overdose death

INDIANAPOLIS — A Marion County judge sentenced an Indianapolis mother to 6 years in the Indiana Department of Correction after her 10-month-old daughter died from a fentanyl overdose.

Sanyla Irby died in July 2024 at an Indianapolis hospital.

An autopsy listed the cause of death as “complications of fentanyl intoxication” and the manner as “accidental.”

Sanyla’s mother, Skyra Irby, was criminally charged in connection with her baby’s death.

On Sept. 30, a judge sentenced Irby to a 12-year sentence: 6 years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction, 6 years suspended, with 2 years of probation plus mental health evaluation and treatment, as well as parenting classes.

Marion County prosecutors had argued for all 12 years to be served in prison.

Records show Irby was originally charged in April 2025 with Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, but Irby was convicted on a lesser charge of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Serious Injury.

Skyra Irby found Sanyla in her pack n play “cold to the touch” and started CPR, but it wasn’t working, according to court documents.

A detective with IMPD obtained a search warrant for an apartment on Sebring Court and found a backpack with blue M30 pills, which are typically made with fentanyl.

At that time, the detective requested the hospital run a full toxicology report on Sanyla.

Irby informed an Indiana Department of Child Services family case manager that her address was actually on Centurion Circle, where the incident with Sanyla took place, court documents allege.

IMPD executed a search warrant on the apartment on Aug. 15 and learned the tenants had prompted “numerous narcotics complaints” and were evicted on Aug. 7.

A lab report from Sebring Court revealed the narcotics found were fentanyl, heroin, marijuana and bromazolam.

The detective noted that at no time did Skyra Irby notify hospital staff that her baby had possibly ingested any type of narcotics.

About The Author

See author's posts