Brittany Stroud Arrested in Columbus in Toddler’s Fentanyl Death

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CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio: Brittany M. Stroud, the mother charged in the fentanyl death of her 17-month-old daughter, is in custody.

Stroud, 30, was taken into custody on the morning of Tuesday, October 27, in Columbus by the Columbus Police Department on the outstanding arrest warrant in the case, according to Pickaway County Sheriff Matthew O. Hafey. She was transported to the Pickaway County Jail without incident, and jail records show she was booked at 12:14 p.m.

She will remain in custody until her initial arraignment on Wednesday, October 28, in Circleville Municipal Court, the sheriff said.

Stroud is charged with involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony; endangering children, a third-degree felony; and possession of a controlled substance, a fifth-degree felony. Detective Sgt. Robert Dauberman filed the charges on October 16.

Deputies and Scioto Township EMS were sent to 7809 High Street, Unit 3, in Orient at 11:14 a.m. on October 13 on a report of a one-year-old girl not breathing. The child, 17 months old, was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:56 a.m. An autopsy at the Franklin County Coroner’s Office found a fatal amount of fentanyl in her system.

The child was supposed to be in the custody of Stroud’s mother, Tammy M. Stroud, 52, under a Franklin County court order, and Brittany Stroud was not to have unsupervised visitation. Tammy Stroud is charged with complicity counts on the same three offenses. She turned herself in on October 18, pleaded not guilty, and is held in the Pickaway County Jail. At a preliminary hearing on Monday, a judge declined to dismiss the charges against her and reduced her bond to $100,000.

Sheriff Hafey thanked his Detective Bureau for its work on the case, and thanked the Columbus Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the United States Marshals Service for their assistance.

Quick facts

Arrested: Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in Columbus, by Columbus police
Booked: Pickaway County Jail, 12:14 p.m. Tuesday
Charges: involuntary manslaughter (F1), endangering children (F3), possession of a controlled substance (F5)
Next court date: arraignment Wednesday, October 28, Circleville Municipal Court

Charges are allegations, and Stroud is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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