Columbia County infant dies from fentanyl exposure, mother and aunt charged

Left: Mitra Ellzey Right: Deangela Belton

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Georgia (WJBF) – The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a toddler in Appling after toxicology tests found illegal narcotics in his system.

On February 29, investigators were called to a home in the 2400 block of Appling Drive because a 13-month-old baby was unresponsive.

Once there, they contacted the child’s mother, Mitra Ellzey, who told them that her baby, KJ, was not breathing. The incident report states that Ellzey spent the evening cleaning her aunt’s house while KJ was crawling around on the floor in the kitchen.

After everyone went to bed, she woke up to check on KJ and found her lying face down on her stomach, not breathing.

After trying to wake the child, she called 911. Investigators asked if KJ might have come into contact with cleaning chemicals while she was on the floor, to which Ellzey told them that KJ had a white powder on her hands, but she believed it was dust from the bottom of the cabinets.

KJ was transported to Augusta University by emergency medical services.

After the child’s death, a toxicology report showed that KJ had illegal narcotics in his system, specifically fentanyl and xylazine, which was given as the cause of death.

Investigators later discovered that Ellzey and her aunt Deangela Belton were responsible for smuggling the drugs. Both are now charged with first-degree murder.

Ellzey has since been taken into custody. Belton is currently in custody on other charges.

Stay tuned to NewsChannel 6 for more details as they become available.