SC parents arrested after 1-year-old overdoses on opioid

Two parents are facing charges after police say their child overdosed on a drug he ingested in their Columbia hotel room.

At 10 a.m. Thursday morning, the child’s mother brought the unresponsive 1-year-old to Columbia police headquarters for help, the police department said in a press release. Officers monitored the child until EMS arrived to provide medical care.

At a local hospital, the child tested positive for fentanyl. Investigators determined the child’s parents had left the drug accessible to him while they slept in a downtown hotel room on the 900 block of Washington Street, police said.

Police charged Donald Ray Little Jr., 39, and Mary Ashley Willis, 27, both of Berkeley County, with unlawful neglect of a child. Little also faces charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

The child, who turned 1 year old on Friday, has been placed in protective custody with the S.C. Department of Social Services.

This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 7:50 AM.

Bristow Marchant

The State

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Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2024 education reporting award.  Support my work with a digital subscription