WAUSAU − A 27-year-old woman pleaded not guilty May 12 to her involvement in the death of her 2-year-old daughter.
Jessica L. Pagenkopf, 27, of Weston, faces a charge of being a party to the crime of neglecting a child resulting in death. During her hearing May 12, she waived her right to a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing is one in which a prosecutor must show there is enough evidence to show a crime probably was committed and the defendant probably was responsible. Pagenkopf then entered the not guilty plea.
Jennifer Rios, 34, of Wausau, has a final pretrial hearing scheduled for Sept. 21 for charges of being a party to the crimes of neglecting a child resulting in death, delivery of a narcotic and drug paraphernalia possession in connection with the girl’s death.
Jason L. Rios, 50, of Wausau, is scheduled for his final pretrial on Sept. 21 on charges of being a party to the crimes of neglecting a child resulting in death, delivery of a narcotic and drug paraphernalia possession in connection with the girl’s death.
According to the criminal complaints, at 5:34 a.m. April 2, 2025, officers responded to a report of a 2-year-old child who was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse. When officers got there, Jason Rios took the officers to a bedroom where the toddler was lying on a bed. The girl was purple and cold.
The officers started CPR, but stopped because they believed it was too late. When Wausau Fire Department EMS arrived, they resumed CPR but also stopped.
Pagenkopf said she lived in the home with Jason Rios and Jennifer Rios, along with the other woman’s four children, according to the complaint. Pagenkopf had been gone most of April 1, 2025, when a friend took her to the dentist. Pagenkopf left her daughter with Jennifer Rios.
The evening of April 1, 2025, Pagenkopf was watching all of the children, according to the complaint. She had a video call with Jennifer Rios during the evening and thought one of the children and her daughter may have gone into the bedroom Jason Rios and Jennifer Rios shared to try and find a video game that had been taken away from the older child as punishment.
Pagenkopf said her daughter had acted normal the night of April 1, 2025. She ate her dinner. The child slept in the same bed as Pagenkopf in a basement bedroom. Pagenkopf told officers her daughter went to sleep right away when she took her to bed, which was unusual. Pagenkopf said she thought the young girl was all right because she was snoring, although she said the child’s breathing sounded strange, according to the complaint.
When Jason Rios and Jennifer Rios got home, they noticed their bedroom door was open and the light was on. The children weren’t supposed to go into the bedroom without permission. The three adults got into an argument when Jason Rios and Jennifer Rios said Pagenkopf wasn’t watching the children properly, according to the complaint.
Pagenkopf said she went to bed with her daughter and fell asleep after the argument. She said she woke up between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. April 2, 2025, and found her daughter was not breathing and was cold to the touch, according to the complaint.
Pagenkopf said she carried her daughter up to Jason Rios and Jennifer Rios’ bedroom to get help and they called 911, according to the complaint.
When an officer brought Jennifer Rios and Jason Rios into their bedroom to talk to them, they said Pagenkopf had asked them for something for pain she had from the dentist, according to the complaint. They said Jason Rios had given Pagenkopf a pill. The officer asked where the pills were and Jennifer Rios began looking on a nightstand. Jason Rios got up and looked into a pill bottle on a nightstand and gasped when he saw it was empty.
Jason Rios said he thought there had been seven or eight pills left in the bottle, but it was empty, according to the complaint. Officers found six oxycodone pills on the floor and in the bedding on the floor when they searched the bedroom, according to the complaint.
Jason Rios said the children weren’t allowed in their bedroom without permission and Pagenkopf must not have been watching the children closely enough when she was responsible for them, according to the complaint.
The final autopsy report stated the 2-year-old girl died from the oxycodone.
Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Former Wausau woman pleads not guilty to neglect in daughter’s death
Reporting by Karen Madden, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
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