Mom arrested after toddler’s fentanyl overdose death indicted for murder

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The mother arrested in the overdose death of her young child has been formally charged with murder by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury, court documents show.

Whitney Ard, 28, was indicted for second-degree murder on Thursday, Sept. 29, in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of Mitchell Robinson III, 2, the document indicates. Ard was initially arrested on a charge of negligent homicide.

A coroner’s report revealed Mitchell died from acute fentanyl toxicity and 14 mL of fentanyl was found in the child’s blood.

A trial date has not been set. Ard remains jailed without bond.

It was learned the incident was neither the child’s first time being exposed to drugs nor the mother’s first run-in with the law for drug possession.

Emergency responders rushed Robinson from his home to the hospital on Sunday, June 26, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to the arrest documents, the toddler had been previously taken to the hospital twice this year showing signs of an overdose and he was treated with Narcan both times before being released back into the mother’s custody.

Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has launched an internal investigation to understand how Robinson’s past suspected overdoses didn’t raise flags with investigators, and whether that oversight led to his death.

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