Ex of Texas man who died from fentanyl in airport bathroom pleads guilty to using children as drug mules
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
DALLAS, TEXAS: According to the US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton, a New Mexico woman has admitted to a federal drug offense after hiding a lethal dose of fentanyl in her children's luggage to deliver the drugs to their father.
Magdalena Silva Banuelos, aged 47, was charged in November 2022 with distributing a controlled substance resulting in death, as per WFAA.
The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, with the possibility of life imprisonment.
Magdalena Banuelos pleads guilty for distributing fentanyl and killing ex-husband
On Wednesday, she accepted a plea deal for distributing fentanyl, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.
In the plea documents, she confessed to providing her sons' father with the fentanyl that led to his death.
On May 31, 2022, Silva Banuelos arranged for her sons, aged 8 and 10, to board a flight from Albuquerque to Dallas to visit her ex-husband, who is their father.
Surveillance footage from Dallas Love Field Airport revealed that her ex-husband collected the boys from the gate around 9.47 pm, inspected their luggage at approximately 10.17 pm, and entered the airport restroom at about 10.26 pm.
Federal officials reported that shortly after, he fatally overdosed in a restroom stall, mere steps away from his sons.
At 10.33 pm, the boys emerged from the restroom, visibly distressed.
Investigators found a Clinique brand makeup container containing over a gram of fentanyl inside the stall.
Silva Banuelos admitted in the plea documents that she packed the fentanyl for her ex-husband's use.
Texts between Silva Banuelos and ex-husband
Text messages between him and Silva Banuelos showed that she knew he planned to take the fentanyl and understood the risk, federal officials said.
A few hours before he died, she texted him, "Hey you need to be careful." He replied, "Yes ma'am. Very slow and easy." She told him, "Just one and then wait you'll see. Just one."
He responded, "Ok cool. Thank you. Will do." She warned him, "No passing out on the kitchen floor. Seriously you could od. No dying on the kitchen floor … It’s going to f*** you up!!!"
At her January 2023 detention hearing, the prosecutor stated that Silva Banuelos "used her minor children to mule drugs."
Attorney Simonton claimed, “This case is a double tragedy: A pair of young boys lost one parent to drugs, and the other to the criminal justice system."
She added, "This defendant allowed her two young sons to fly more than 500 miles cross-country with a highly lethal synthetic opioid stashed inside their suitcase, knowing full well how dangerous it was. These boys stood nearby as their father suffered a fatal overdose after ingesting it. The Justice Department will continue to fight until fentanyl is eradicated from our streets."
