The parents of 15-month-old Cairo Astacio will spend more than 20 years in prison after being found guilty of child abuse causing death by fentanyl ingestion, an El Paso County judge decided Wednesday.
Astacio's parents, Joenny Manuel Astacio Ottenwalder, 36, and Kira Lee Davison, 29, who previously used the last name Villalba, were both found guilty in March of causing Astacio's death in November 2021.
Prosecutor Brien Cecil urged Judge Laura Findorff to sentence both Davison and Ottenwalder to over 30 years in prison.
"They were careless enough with them (drugs) that Cairo was exposed to them and died (of) a massive fentanyl overdose," Cecil said. "This was an avoidable tragedy. It was an avoidable death."
Cecil said he felt it was appropriate for a harsher sentence to be given to Ottenwalder because of his previous criminal conviction for attempting to smuggle drugs into the United States, and his failure to stay in compliance with probation following that conviction.
Following Cecil's statement, Davison said she took responsibility for causing the death of her son, describing her fentanyl use as "selfish."
"I should have fought harder to be clean. I should have fought harder to be the mother Cairo deserved," Davison told the court. "Losing my son has been the hardest and most painful experience I've ever been through ... and it was my addiction that took him from me."
Davison also said she has begun her recovery over the last year she has spent in jail, and that she hopes to never fall back into addiction when she is released from prison.
Jason Tiplitz, Davison's attorney, asked the court to give his client the minimum sentence of 16 years in prison, arguing that the upper end of the sentencing scale should be reserved for those who knowingly cause the death of a child, and not recklessly as he argues his client did.
Will Cook, Ottenwalder's defense attorney, argued that his client should receive 24 years in prison. Like Tiplitz, Cook said a sentence closer to the maximum should only be reserved for those who knowingly cause the death of a child. Cook used the example of a parent choking a child out of anger as a hypothetical case that would better suit the maximum sentence of 48 years in prison.
Cook also argued that Ottenwalder throughout the court process had taken responsibility for his actions that led to the death of Astacio, and that he too is struggling with the loss.
"When Cairo died, part of him died, too," Cook said. "There's nothing he can do about it."
Ottenwalder did not address the court directly on the advice of his attorneys, Cook said.
Findorff gave Davison a 24-year prison sentence and Ottenwalder a 28-year prison sentence. Both sentences also require a five-year mandatory parole period upon their release.
Findorff said Ottenwalder received the harsher prison sentence because of his prior criminal conviction.
"This is a hard case. ... Nobody is arguing that neither (Ottenwalder) or Davison loved their child," Findorff said near the conclusion of the sentencing hearing. "I want to offer my sincerest condolences to both of you, but the reality is you caused (Astacio's) death."
Ottenwalder and Davison each received separate six-month jail sentences for misdemeanor possession of fentanyl and cocaine.
They also face a separate case, in which both are accused of providing fentanyl to a 13-year-old girl who overdosed twice.
The jury trial for that case was scheduled to begin in February, but because of concerns about the two trials overlapping — as well as attorneys representing Ottenwalder saying they weren’t ready — the trial was rescheduled for July 17.
Ottenwalder and Davison face two counts of child abuse causing serious bodily injury, controlled substance distribution to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The couple are due back in court on June 28 for their pre-trial conferences.
