Mom continued to “dose” her 1-year-old son with high blood pressure medications that she “crushed up” and combined “with milk in his sippy cup or yogurt.”

Alesha Martin, a 25-year-old from Reno, Nevada, was sentenced this week to up to 10 years in prison, with parole eligibility after four years, for willfully poisoning her 14-month-old son with unprescribed clonidine.​

Poisoning Method

Martin confessed to crushing clonidine pills—used for high blood pressure or ADHD—and mixing them into her son’s sippy cup milk or yogurt on multiple occasions in May 2025, including twice while he was hospitalized in Utah. She claimed to dose him every six to seven days to avoid hurting him, but this caused repeated medical emergencies requiring intubation and helicopter transport.​

Investigation Trigger

The child’s hospitalizations in Nevada and Utah, confirmed by toxicology tests showing unprescribed medication, prompted the probe; his grandfather reported the poisoning to police. Martin admitted during a June 2025 interview to at least four instances, with one dose sending him back to the hospital the day after release on May 27.​

Legal Outcome

She faced four counts of poisoning food/water/medicine and one child abuse charge, pleading guilty to one poisoning count in Second Judicial District Court. Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam praised detectives, medical staff, and prosecutors for ensuring the child’s safety.

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