An autopsy of a deceased 1 year old has revealed the child died of starvation after his mother died of a drug overdose in February, the Tennessean reported.
A probation officer discovered 32-year-old Tiffany Spears and her 1-year-old son Nicholas Crowder dead in their Portland, Tennessee residence in February and notified the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office that she had “observed an obvious medical emergency,” the sheriff’s office said, according to the Tennessean.
Crowder, who was just 15-months-old at the time of his death, the Tennessean noted, was found strapped into a car seat placed on the bedroom floor of their Portland home. The autopsy, released Monday, discovered that Crowder had died of dehydration and starvation, the Tennessean reported.
Tiffany Spears, 32, and her son, Nicholas Crowder, were discovered dead Feb. 9, in their Butler Road home in Portland, about 35 miles northeast of Nashville. The autopsy results were released Monday. https://t.co/IliJ8Jbjra
— Tennessean (@Tennessean) June 14, 2021
Authorities also discovered a 3-year-old girl still alive inside the home. The girl, according to the autopsy report by Davidson County Assistant Medical Examiner Emily Dennison, was Crowder’s 3-year-old sister, the outlet reported.
The report also said there was evidence she attempted to feed her little brother strapped in the car seat because investigators found food such as dried eggs in and around the carseat, according to the Tennessean. “It appeared the decedent’s sister tried to take care of the decedent for several days,” the autopsy report read, the Tennessean reported. (RELATED: 2-Year-Old Dies After Ingesting Fentanyl Allegedly Purchased Using Stimulus Check)
After the family was discovered in February, the Tennessean reported, the 3-year-old was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Subsequent evaluations and tests also revealed that Spears, the mother, had died several days prior to the probation officer discovering her body of a methamphetamine and fentanyl overdose, according to the report.
Dennison ruled both Spears’ and Crowder’s deaths accidental, according to the Tennessean.