2-Year-Old Found Unresponsive in Father’s Apartment

Just after 10 P.M on February 10, 2024, the Mansfield police were called to an apartment on Towne Crossing Boulevard for an unresponsive child. When paramedics arrived, they began performing CPR on 2-year-old Nevaeh before taking her to a hospital nearby, where she died 10 days later.

According to the arrest affidavit, A 28-year-old man, who is her father that goes by the name od Reed, told police that he fell asleep and woke up to his 2-year-old daughter limp and lying on the floor with what he described as labored breathing.

Once he realised what was happening, he attempted to order an opioid antidote, Naloxone, on DoorDash. He admitted he didn’t call the police right away. Around 8:13 pm, he searched online for ‘ how to make a child throw up’ and tried to do it himself. He ended up calling 911 two hours later when Nevaeh stopped breathing.

Jamie Popovic, who is Reed’s sister and roommate at the time, as well as Nevaeh’s aunt told the police that she urged Reed to call 911but he refused, saying he did not want to lose custody of his children. It’s reported that Popovic saw blue and white pills around the apartment at the time of the incident.

​​Anthony McDonald, who was the third adult in the apartment,  told officers that Nevaeh came into his room around 8 pm, covered in powder. He said he later heard commotion when Popovic was trying to wake Reed, saying that Nevaeh was unresponsive.

McDonald also stepped in to help, trying to make her throw up. He also said that Nevaeh was limp with her head was bent backwards, acknowledging he knew she was injured.

When first responders arrived, Reed did not tell the EMS that she may have overdosed, according to investigators.

On Monday, Nevaeh’s mother, Staphanie Waller, spoke at Tarrant County Court. “I just hope that every day he wakes up and sees her face and remembers her. She can’t speak. She can’t speak for herself. Only I can speak for her, and I’m going to always speak for her.”
“That’s why I really wanted to go to trial. I wanted everyone to see all the evidence, all the facts out there,” Waller said. She’s still shaken by the state of Reed’s apartment, where her daughter overdosed. Waller also said, “It eats me up. Why did you send her over there? I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said she feels peace about the case, she’s happy something is happening, and that she’s going to keep going for her daughter.

When Investigators searched the apartment, they found syringes and fentanyl-laced pills inside the apartment. It’s reported that officers found 2 pills on the desk, a strong odor of marijuana, two burnt marijuana cigarettes, and a syringe on the coffee table.  They also found what they believed to be a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl on the living room floor, just a few feet away from where Popovic said she picked up Nevaeh. Investigators say the pill test came back positive for fentanyl. They also found a loaded handgun in a kitchen cabinet that Nevaeh had access to

Reed’s trial has been pushed back numerous times.

According to court records, Jamie Popovic was sentenced to 60 months of probation in March and was charged with abandoning and endangering a child.