York County woman charged with homicide after alleged drug use during pregnancy
A South Carolina woman is charged with homicide by child abuse after she allegedly used illegal drugs -- fentanyl and meth -- while pregnant, according to York County deputies and arrest warrants in the case.
Kelly Lauren Ferrell, 31, of Fort Mill, was arrested over the weekend in the town of York and booked into the York County jail, according to the warrant, a sheriff’s office incident report and Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
The unborn child died earlier this year at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, deputies allege in arrest warrants and an incident report.
Ferrell is accused of “illicitly using fentanyl and methamphetamine in an ongoing pattern during the course of her known pregnancy causing the fetal demise of her approximately 40 week unborn son under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life,” the arrest warrant states.
The arrest warrant was signed by a judge March 29 after deputies received drug screens, medical records, and other documentation, the warrant states. The York County Coroner’s Office advised deputies of the death on March 27, according to a sheriff’s office incident report.
“According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was intrauterine fetal demise in the setting of acute placental abruption and maternal drug use (methamphetamine/amphetamine, fentanyl),” the sheriff’s office incident report stated.
Defense will do its own investigation
Ferrell is represented by the 16th Circuit Public Defender’s office, according to. B.J. Barrowclough, York County’s top public defender.
Barrowclough said Monday his office will conduct its own investigation into the allegations.
“We will do a full and through investigation, and consult with medical experts as necessary, and do all we can do to defend Ms. Ferrell’s legal interests,” Barrowclough told The Herald in a phone interview Monday.
SC charge carries 20 years to life
Homicide by child abuse is a felony under South Carolina law defined as when a person, “causes the death of a child under the age of eleven while committing child abuse or neglect, and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life.”
A conviction for the charge carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison with a maximum penalty of life, South Carolina law states.
Ferrell remains in the York County jail after an initial court hearing where she was denied bail.
