Inset: Brittany Stroud (Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Ohio location where Stroud’s 17-month-old daughter died (Google Maps).
An Ohio mother is facing charges in the death of her 17-month-old daughter after telling a 911 dispatcher that the child was “purple,” refusing to perform CPR and leaving the scene in a red Jeep Compass.
Brittany Stroud, 30, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and drug possession in connection with the toddler’s death, authorities announced.
Stroud’s mother, Tammy Stroud, also faces charges of complicity to involuntary manslaughter, complicity to child endangerment and complicity to drug possession.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, deputies from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and paramedics were called to a home in the 7800 block of High Street at about 11:14 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2026. The call reported that a toddler was not breathing.
During the 911 call, a distressed Brittany Stroud told the dispatcher that her 1-year-old daughter was “dead.” When asked whether she knew CPR, Stroud responded by “stating it was beyond that point,” according to the affidavit.
“We’re past that,” she said. “She’s purple. Oh my God.”
A second child could be heard crying and asking what was happening. Stroud also told the dispatcher that she had checked on the toddler earlier that morning and found her “laying with her face flat in the bed.”
A medic told an officer that the child had been found unresponsive on a mattress in a rear bedroom. Responders performed CPR before taking her to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where she was pronounced dead.
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The affidavit states that the toddler had spent much of the previous evening on the living room floor while family members were in the home. Tammy Stroud, who had legal custody of the child under a court order, told investigators that she went to bed while the girl remained on the floor. She said the child was still there when she left for work at about 6 a.m. the next day.
Authorities said the child was moved to a bedroom sometime after Tammy Stroud left. Brittany Stroud told investigators that she checked on her daughter around 7:30 a.m. and heard her snoring before returning to sleep. She woke again at about 11 a.m. and discovered that the child was not breathing.
The affidavit states that the toddler was reportedly sleeping on her knees, with her face partially pressed into the mattress, “possibly” restricting her oxygen intake.
Brittany Stroud turned her daughter onto her back, left the room and called 911. Investigators said she declined to perform CPR.
An autopsy conducted Oct. 14 at the Franklin County Coroner’s Office found a lethal level of fentanyl in the child’s system, according to the sheriff’s office.
Following a search of the home, authorities obtained arrest warrants for both Brittany and Tammy Stroud on Oct. 16.
Tammy Stroud turned herself in on Oct. 18 and pleaded not guilty during her arraignment the next day. She remains in the Pickaway County jail on a $250,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office said Brittany Stroud’s arrest warrant was still outstanding. She was last seen driving a red Jeep Compass and is known to frequent Columbus and areas of Franklin County.
The post Mom who declined to perform CPR on ‘purple’ toddler who died with fatal amounts of drugs in her system is on the lam: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
