Mother Charged After Baby Dies From Overdose, Police Investigate She Allegedly Led Dog Fighting Ring

A South Carolina woman has been charged after her 10-month-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose

• A South Carolina woman has been charged with manslaughter by child abuse after her 10-month-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose while she and the baby’s father allegedly ran a dog fighting ring, authorities said.

• “Evidence collected at the crime scene included baby bottles, powdered milk, a pacifier and a dollar bill containing a powdery substance,” the sheriff’s office alleged in a press release

• Sheriff Kristin Graziano said in the press release, “As a parent, it shakes me to my core to see people be so careless and neglectful with their children.”

A South Carolina woman has been charged after her 10-month-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose while she and the baby’s father were running a dog fighting ring, police said.

Sara Shakeri-Taylor, 39, of Ladson, is charged with manslaughter with child abuse, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release Monday, August 26.

The Charleston County coroner has identified the deceased baby as 10-month-old Aminah Gathers, WCSC and WTVM reported.

According to the coroner, toxicology tests showed the baby had a large amount of fentanyl in her system when she died, WTVM reported.

According to the coroner, her death was attributed to a fentanyl overdose, WTVM reports.

The charges against Shakeri-Taylor date back to May 15, around 4 p.m., when CCSO officers responded to reports of an unresponsive child at a home on Harwood Street in Ladson, the sheriff’s office said in the news release.

Shakeri-Taylor and Gathers were home when officers were called to their house, the news release said.

Officers began performing life-saving measures until firefighters and EMS personnel arrived. The baby was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead later that night.

“Evidence collected at the crime scene included baby bottles, formula, a pacifier and a dollar bill containing a powdery substance,” the sheriff’s office said in the release.

“These items were sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for analysis,” it continued, noting further: “All items were deemed to contain fentanyl.”

Sheriff Kristin Graziano was highly critical of Shakeri-Taylor’s alleged actions.

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“As a parent, it breaks my heart to see people being so careless and neglectful with their children,” she said in the press release.

“This mother made a terrible decision, and she is where she belongs,” Graziano added.

Shakeri-Taylor was initially held at the Dorchester County Detention Center but was transferred to the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on Friday, Aug. 23, the sheriff’s office said in the news release.

During the subsequent investigation into the baby’s death, officers and SLED agents found 15 dogs, most of which are believed to be pit bulls, on the property where she and Gathers live, the release said.

“Other items found in the residence and on the property are known to be used for dog fighting,” the sheriff’s office said in the release.

On May 29, 2024, CCSO deputies and SLED officers executed a search warrant and reportedly found two dogs on the property. One dog they found was reportedly dead. The three dogs were taken to the Charleston Animal Society.

Officers also seized equipment known to be used in dog fighting, the press release said.

On June 4, CCSO and SLED officers located Gathers at a home in the 4400 block of Garwood Street in Ladson and took him into custody.

Gathers is charged with two counts of animal fighting or solicitation, one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a person convicted of a violent crime, the news release said.

Since May, Shakeri-Taylor has also been charged with three counts of conspiracy, three counts of animal fighting or solicitation and one count of animal cruelty, the news release said.

“There is a co-suspect in this case, but no details are being released at this time,” the Public Prosecution Service said.

Gathers is being held at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center. It is unclear whether the two have attorneys who can comment on their behalf.

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