Selbyville mother Ashley Tull pleads guilty to child endangerment

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A mother who sent her 4-yearold daughter to daycare with a backpack full of heroin has pleaded guilty to one charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

Selbyville resident Ashley Tull, 30, was arrested Oct. 6 after sending her daughter to a Selbyville daycare with the backpack.

Judge E. Scott Bradley sentenced Tull to one year of probation and substance abuse evaluation and possible treatment. She also must fully cooperate with the Division of Family Services. Tull’s attorney Thomas Pedersen said Tull has custody of her daughter and two older children, a 9-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl.

The incident occurred Oct. 6 when Tull sent her daughter to school with a backpack containing 249 baggies of heroin, weighing 3.735 grams, after the girl’s usual backpack was ruined the night before by a family pet, police said.

The 4-year-old girl thought she was passing out candy to her classmates when she handed out the baggies of heroin she found in her backpack, police said.

Daycare providers observed the children with small bags of an unknown substance and contacted police. The substance was still enclosed in the bags, was removed by the teachers and taken to the Selbyville Police Department where police determined it was heroin.

Several children who came in contact with the unopened bags were taken to area hospitals as a precaution and released after examination, police said.

Tull initially was charged with maintaining a drug property and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Her plea deal included waiving her rights to a trial.