Mom, aunt charged with murder after Georgia toddler overdoses on fentanyl

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia woman and her aunt are facing murder charges after a 13-month-old girl overdosed on fentanyl in February.

Columbia County deputies say they were called to a home in Appling to investigate the death of a toddler.

When they arrived at the house, they found the child’s mom, 31-year-old Mitra Ellzey, holding her daughter Kinsley at the end of the driveway.

Ellzey told investigators that she had been cleaning the house she lived in with her aunt, 37-year-old Deangela Belton. As she cleaned, Kinsley was crawling around on the kitchen floor and got some white powder on her hand that Ellzey told investigators she assumed was dust.

After going to bed, she noticed the toddler was lying face down and not breathing. When she couldn’t wake Kinsley up, she called 911. The toddler did not survive.

Last month, the GBI’s toxicology report came back positive for fentanyl and xylazine, a tranquilizer found in many illegal drugs.

Investigators determined that both Ellzey and Belton were responsible for the drugs being in the house.

Both women have since been charged with murder. Belton was already in custody on unrelated charges and Ellzey was arrested on this warrant.