An Aiken County mom was charged Monday with homicide by child abuse after an autopsy on her 3-year-old daughter shows the child died from ingesting fentanyl and meth.
Carolyn Scott, 26, of Aiken, is blamed in the death of Riley Scott, who died Sept. 10 after being rushed to Children’s Hospital of Georgia. The mother is also charged with unlawful neglect of her other two children, ages 4 and 8.
Warrants say Scott had her three children living in deplorable conditions at a home in Jackson, where there was no running water and the electricity was being provided illegally in an unsafe manner.
“The home had evidence of narcotic use with uncapped syringes, foil and suspected drugs within reach of the minor child,” a warrant says. “The sheets and other items in the house tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl.”
Riley Scott was found blue and unresponsive on Sept. 10 by her older brother and her mother. The girl had been asleep for about two hours when her brother went into the room to try and wake her inside the home at 115 Ellen Drive in Jackson, a sheriff’s report says.
“Carolyn was trying to get the other juvenile to stop when she noticed what appeared to be vomit on the bed,” a sheriff’s report says. “Carolyn rolled the victim over on her back and noticed her to be unresponsive and turning blue. Carolyn then called for her mother Jennifer Scott, who then called 911.”
The mother and the homeowner, Ronald Doyle, told authorities they were unsure what the girl could have gotten into. The mother said Riley had no known medical issues.
First responders attempted CPR on Riley. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
But the warrant says the mother neglected Riley Scott and showed extreme indifference to human life. The girl had a body temperature of 86 degrees when transported to the hospital, indicating that she had more than an hour delay before medical assistance was contacted, a warrant says.
“Autopsy and toxicological analysis revealed her cause of death to be acute mixed drug intoxication of Fentanyl and Methamphetamine and her manner of death to be homicide,” the warrant says. “Naloxone (Narcan) was also found present in her blood indicating that she was administered the medication while she was still alive. Carolyn had knowledge about the dangers of fentanyl.”
The mother is being held without bond at the Aiken County Detention Center.
