Louisville mother uses billboard to demand tougher charges after son’s fentanyl overdose death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville mother is using a billboard near Churchill Downs to demand justice for her son, who died of a fentanyl overdose in August.

The billboard carries a message Dena Weedman wants everyone to see. Weedman says her son, Dylan Bryant, died in August, and she wants whoever sold him the drugs not only charged for trafficking — but charged for his death.

“He was my baby,” she said.

Bryant, known for lighting up every room, died after taking fentanyl. Weedman says she does not know who supplied the drugs that killed him.

“So I hope that money that they made off of that — he probably spent 50 bucks, maybe 100 — I hope it was worth it,” she said.

This Christmas is the first for Bryant’s young son without his father.

“Look at his son and explain your dad is not coming back... it’s rough,” Weedman said.

The billboard faces Churchill Downs — an area Bryant frequented during his addiction.

“I hope they ride by every day and look at it, but I’m sure they don’t feel anything,” Weedman said.

Kentucky recorded more than 1,400 overdose deaths in 2024, with fentanyl present in more than 60 percent.

There are multiple ways under Kentucky law for drug dealers to face prison time when a sale results in death.

“There could be manslaughter. It can also be trafficking with fentanyl resulting in death, which is also a Class B felony that carries 10 to 20 years in prison,” attorney and former prosecutor Leland Hulbert said.

Lawmakers updated the statute in 2024 to allow prosecutors to charge the sale of fentanyl that results in death as second-degree manslaughter.

Weedman says the penalties still fall short and wants stiffer consequences for the dealers she blames for her son’s death.