SEDGWICK COUNTY — One of three suspects who admitted his role the drug overdose death of a 15-year-old Kansas girl is going to prison.
On Friday Judge Jeffrey Syrios sentenced 24-year-old Niklas Wiley to 330 months in prison for the death of 15-year-old Kennedy Herren, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.
In June, Wiley pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance causing death and aggravated child endamgerment. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped a first degree murder charge.
On September 14, 2025, police responded to the report of a deceased 15-year-old in Wichita, according to a media release from police. The investigation determined the death of Kennedy Herren was the result of a drug overdose. An autopsy determined Herren died as a result of an overdose of cocaine, oxycodone, fentanyl and bromazolam, according to court records.
Wiley, Herren and Isaac Hord were drinking and doing drugs at the home where Hord lived with his mother, Danielle Wheeler. An affidavit by a Wichita Police Department detective says Wiley acknowledged that it was a dangerous place to bring a 15-year-old girl.
On October 15, K-9 officers arrested 24-year-old Isaac L. Hord and on October 19 they arrested 24-year-old Niklas Wiley in connection with this case. Danielle Wheeler, 53, Wichita, was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on October 22, in connection with the case, according to online jail records. She met the requirement for bond and is no longer in custody.