Two women sentenced for their roles in the death of 19-year-old mother in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A federal court in El Paso has sentenced two women for their roles in the death of a 19-year-old mother.

Court documents say Kathy Lee Nicole Bradford, 32, planned to sell 10 counterfeit fentanyl M-30 pills to the victim, while Patricia Tafoya, 40, made the delivery.

The mother died in April 2022 of acute fentanyl poisoning, the county medical examiner's office found.

“Bradford admitted in March that she knew the pills contained fentanyl, pleading guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury,” a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney general said. “She was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison.”

Tafoya, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to enter a drug treatment program.

Because this is a federal case, authorities are not releasing photos of Bradford or Tafoya.