A South Carolina woman has been charged after her 10-month-old daughter died of a fentanyl overdose while she and the baby’s father were allegedly running a dogfighting ring, police said.
Sara Shakeri-Taylor, 39, of Ladson, is charged with homicide by child abuse, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release on Monday, Aug. 26.
The Charleston County Coroner has identified the baby who died as 10-month-old Aminah Gathers, WCSC and WTVM reported.
Toxicology tests allegedly showed the baby had a large amount of fentanyl in her system when she died, according to the coroner, WTVM noted.
Her death was ruled a fentanyl overdose, according to the coroner, WTVM shared.
The charges against Shakeri-Taylor stem from May 15, at about 4 p.m., when CCSO deputies responded to reports about an unresponsive child at a home on Harwood Street in Ladson, the sheriff’s office said in the release.
Shakeri-Taylor and Gathers were home when deputies were called to their house, according to the release.
Deputies began performing lifesaving measures until firefighters and EMS personnel arrived. The baby was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead later that night.
“Evidence collected from the scene included baby bottles, formula, a pacifier, and a dollar bill with a powder substance,” the sheriff’s office alleged in the release.
“These items were sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for analysis,” it continued, further noting, “All the items were presumptive for the presence of fentanyl.”
Sheriff Kristin Graziano had strong words for Shakeri-Taylor’s alleged actions.
“As a parent, it shakes me to my core to see people be so careless and negligent with their children,” she said in the release.
“This mother made a terrible decision, and she is where she belongs,” Graziano added.
Shakeri-Taylor was initially held at the Dorchester County Detention Center but was transported to the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on Friday, Aug. 23, the sheriff’s office said in the release.
During the subsequent investigation into the baby’s death, deputies and SLED agents found 15 dogs, mostly believed to be pit bulls on the property where she and Gathers live, the release alleged.
“Other items found in the residence and on the property are widely known to be used for dog fighting,” the sheriff’s office alleged in the release.
On May 29, 2024, CCSO deputies and SLED agents executed a search warrant and allegedly found two dogs on the property. One dog they found was dead, it alleged. The three dogs were taken to the Charleston Animal Society.
Deputies also seized items known to be used for dog fighting, the release alleged.
On June 4, CCSO deputies and SLED agents located Gathers at a home in the 4400 block of Garwood Street in Ladson and took him into custody.
Gathers is charged with two counts of animal fighting or baiting, one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent crime, the release said.
Since May, Shakeri-Taylor has also been charged with three counts of conspiracy, three counts of animal fighting or baiting and one count of ill treatment of animals, the release said.
“There is a co-defendant in this case, however, no details are being released at this time,” it said.
Gathers is being held in the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center. It is unclear whether the two have retained lawyers who can comment on their behalf.
