An aunt is facing manslaughter and child abuse charges in connection with the death of her 15-month-old niece, who Columbus police say overdosed on fentanyl while caring for her.
A Franklin County grand jury on Friday indicted Antoinett Belton, 20, of the city’s Northwest Side. Court records show a warrant has been issued for Belton’s arrest.
Belton was caring for her niece, Mi’Honesti Parks, at a home on the Southeast Side on April 21 when the toddler was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she died that night.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office determined during an autopsy that Mi’Honesti died after ingesting fentanyl and acetylfentanyl. Both substances were found in her system at the time of her death, court documents state.
An investigation revealed that Mi’Honesti may have found the drugs in Belton’s purse. In her obituary, Belton is listed as an aunt.
Columbus police have not released any information about Mi’Honesti’s death and do not include child overdose deaths as homicides in their statistics.
This is at least the second child death in 2024 that is believed to have been caused by fentanyl ingestion.
The death of an 11-month-old boy in August, who allegedly ingested fentanyl in a Far West Side apartment, remains under investigation by Columbus police detectives.
bbruner@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus aunt charged in fentanyl overdose death of 15-month-old niece
