Ohio mom finds her toddler ‘purple’ and refuses to perform CPR. Then she flees in her red Jeep after calling 911: ‘We’re past that’
The day ended in heartbreak. The questions were just beginning
Finding a child unresponsive is every parent’s nightmare. But one Ohio mother allegedly refused to perform CPR on her 17-month-old daughter, insisting it was already too late. What investigators discovered afterward made the situation even more disturbing.
Parents accused of causing their infants’ deaths have faced serious consequences. But this case took another turn when authorities discovered what was inside the toddler’s body. By the time police issued an arrest warrant, her mother had disappeared.
According to Law&Crime, 30-year-old Brittany Stroud faces involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and drug possession charges following her daughter’s death on October 13. Her own mother, Tammy Stroud, is also charged in connection with the incident.
Something about that morning didn’t add up
On October 13, deputies and paramedics responded to a residence in Pickaway County, Ohio, after receiving a report of a toddler who wasn’t breathing. During the 911 call, Brittany reportedly told the dispatcher that her daughter was already dead. When asked whether she knew CPR, she insisted there was no point.
“We’re past that,” she told the dispatcher. “She’s purple. Oh my God.”
According to a probable cause affidavit, another child could be heard crying in the background and asking what was happening. Brittany also mentioned checking on her daughter earlier that morning and finding her lying face down on a bed.
Emergency responders discovered the toddler unresponsive on a mattress in a rear bedroom. They immediately began CPR and transported her to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where she was pronounced dead. However, investigators soon uncovered troubling details about the hours leading up to the emergency call.
Tammy Stroud, the child’s grandmother, reportedly had legal custody of the toddler under a court order. She told investigators that the girl had spent much of the previous evening lying on the living room floor while family members were home.
Tammy claimed she went to bed while the toddler remained there. When she left for work around 6 a.m., the child was allegedly still on the floor. At some point, someone moved the toddler into a bedroom.
Brittany told investigators that she checked on her daughter around 7:30 a.m. and heard her snoring. She then returned to sleep, waking again around 11 a.m. to discover the child wasn’t breathing.
The affidavit noted that the toddler appeared to have been sleeping on her knees, with her face partially pressed into the mattress. Investigators considered whether that position might have restricted her oxygen intake.
Brittany reportedly turned her daughter onto her back before running out to call 911. However, she declined to attempt CPR while waiting for emergency responders.
The following day, an autopsy revealed something far more alarming. According to the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office discovered a lethal amount of fentanyl in the 17-month-old girl’s system. The powerful opioid can be deadly even in small amounts, but authorities did not explain how the toddler encountered it.
Following a search of the home, authorities obtained arrest warrants for Brittany and Tammy on October 16. Tammy surrendered on October 18 and pleaded not guilty the following day. She faces complicity to involuntary manslaughter, complicity to child endangerment, and complicity to drug possession charges.
She remained in Pickaway County jail on a $250,000 bond. Brittany, meanwhile, remained wanted by authorities. Police reported that she was last seen driving a red Jeep Compass and was known to frequent Columbus and Franklin County.
While her mother is already facing court proceedings, Brittany’s whereabouts remain unknown. The investigation has left serious questions about how the toddler encountered fentanyl and what happened inside the home before the fatal 911 call.
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