CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (Court TV) — A woman accused of killing her toddler with drugs is in custody after more than a week on the run.
Brittany Stroud (Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office)
Brittany Stroud, 30, was arrested 11 days after charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and possession of drugs were filed against her. Brittany Stroud’s mother, Tammy Stroud, 52, was arrested Oct. 18 on the same charges.
Both women are charged in the death of Brittany Stroud’s 17-month-old daughter, who died on Oct. 13, 2026. Brittany Stroud called 911 late that morning to report that her daughter wasn’t breathing. On the call, Brittany Stroud described the 17-month-old as “dead”; when the dispatcher asked if she knew CPR, Brittany Stroud responded that “it was beyond that point” and told the dispatcher, “She’s purple. Oh my God,” according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
First responders found the child, not breathing, on a mattress in a rear bedroom of the family’s home. Investigators said that Tammy Stroud, who had legal custody of the toddler, told officers that she had gone to bed while the child was left on the floor of the home. Tammy Stroud said the little girl was still on the floor when she left for work the next morning. In a news release announcing the charges, Pickaway County deputies said that a judge had ordered Brittany Stroud to have only supervised visitation with her daughter.
Brittany Stroud allegedly told police that she had been caring for her child while her mother was at work, and that she moved the 17-month-old to a bedroom and checked on her at around 7:30 a.m. before going back to sleep herself. When Brittany Stroud woke up again at 11 a.m., she said the child was not breathing. “[The toddler] was reported to have been sleeping on her knees with her face partially pushed into the mattress that possibly restricted her oxygen intake,” the affidavit said, according to Law&Crime. Brittany Stroud allegedly told first responders that she turned the child onto her back and called 911, but never performed CPR.
Tammy Stroud (Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators said that the medical examiner determined at autopsy that the toddler died from an overdose of fentanyl; deputies said evidence was seized from the home where the child died, but declined to list what was taken.
Tammy Stroud, who turned herself in to police two days after charges were filed, was given a $250,000 bond; she remains in custody. No bond information was publicly available for Brittany Stroud, who is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 6, according to records Court TV reviewed.
