Tarrant mother accused in daughter’s fentanyl death facing more drug charges

Tarrant mother accused in daughter’s fentanyl death facing more drug charges

More charges have been filed against a Tarrant mother whose toddler daughter died this past summer from a drug overdose.

Farrah Bates, 23, was charged in November with reckless manslaughter, a Class B felony, and chemical endangerment, a Class A felony, involving the death of her daughter, 2-year-old Ariyah Crawford.

Bates was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Nov. 21, and released the same day after posting $90,000 bond.

On Wednesday, Tarrant police obtained new warrants for Bates, charging her unlawful possession or receipt of a controlled substance- fentanyl possession, second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. The new charges stem from the same incident.

Her bond on the new charges is set at $22,000.

About 4 p.m. on July 18, Tarrant police were dispatched to the 2200 block of Old Pinson Highway in Tarrant regarding an unresponsive 2-year-old girl.

When they arrived, police said, Ariyah did not have a pulse.

“According to the parents, including Farrah Bates, the juvenile was sleeping along with her (mother) in bed,’’ a Tarrant press release stated.

Mayor Wayman Newton previously said the toddler was home with her mother while the father was at work. When the father returned home at 3:30 p.m., he found “Ariyah Crawford lifeless, lips were blue while the mother was asleep.”

Ariyah was taken to Children’s of Alabama where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy showed Ariyah had fentanyl in her system at the time of her death.

Anyone with additional information on the case is asked to call Detective Crosby at 205-849-2811.