PICKAWAY COUNTY — A mother charged in the fentanyl death of her 17-month-old daughter in Pickaway County was taken into custody in Columbus on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office.
Brittany M. Stroud was arrested by the Columbus Police Department on an outstanding arrest warrant, according to Sheriff Matthew O. Hafey. She was transported to the Pickaway County Jail without incident and will remain in custody until her initial arraignment on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Circleville Municipal Court, according to the sheriff’s office.
The case began on Oct. 13, when deputies and Scioto Township EMS were dispatched at 11:14 a.m. to 7809 High Street, Unit 3, in Orient on a report of a young child not breathing, according to the sheriff’s office. EMS arrived first, started CPR and transported the 17-month-old girl to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased at 11:56 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives learned that, under a Franklin County court order, the child was supposed to be in the custody of 52-year-old Tammy M. Stroud, and that Brittany Stroud was not to have unsupervised visitation with the child, according to the sheriff’s office. Tammy Stroud is Brittany Stroud’s mother, according to the sheriff’s office.
An autopsy performed Oct. 14 at the Franklin County Coroner’s Office found a fatal amount of fentanyl in the child’s system, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives then executed a search warrant at the Orient residence and seized evidence, and a handful of other search warrants have been executed in the case, according to the sheriff’s office.
On Oct. 16, charges were filed against Brittany Stroud for involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; child endangerment, a third-degree felony; and possession of a controlled substance, a fifth-degree felony, according to the sheriff’s office. Charges were also filed against Tammy Stroud for complicity to involuntary manslaughter, complicity to child endangerment and complicity to possession of a controlled substance, at the same felony levels, according to the sheriff’s office. Arrest warrants were issued for both, according to the sheriff’s office.
Tammy Stroud turned herself in on the evening of Oct. 18, was arraigned Oct. 19 in Circleville Municipal Court and was given a $250,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Hafey thanked his Detective Bureau, the Columbus Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the United States Marshals Service for their assistance in the case, according to the sheriff’s office.
