Inverness, Florida –The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that four people have been charged in the death of a two-month-old child who died in March.
The four suspects were charged with Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child, Child Neglect, and Maintaining a Dwelling for the Purpose of Using Controlled Substances.
The suspects were identified as 25-year-old Kevin Courtney, 25-year-old Stephanie Carroll, 52-year-old Steven Gibson (not photo available), and 44-year-old Tammy Allison were arrested after CCSO’s investigation revealed their negligence in the death of a two-month-old child earlier this year.
The case began on March 13, 2020, when CCSO received a 9-1-1 call in reference to a two-month-old baby that had become unresponsive and was not breathing.
When deputies and EMS arrived at the residence the infant was then transported to Citrus Memorial Hospital where she was later pronounced deceased.
Detective Richey and Detective Norton, with the CCSO Special Victim’s Unit, responded and began an intensive investigation into this incident; along with the cooperation of the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Medical Examiner’s (ME) Office, and the State Attorney’s Office.
According to the ME’s report, it was determined that methamphetamine toxicity was a factor in the victim’s death.
During further interviews, four adults living in the residence at the time of the infant’s death stated that they regularly snorted and smoked methamphetamine in the presence of the deceased child and two other juveniles.
Armed with this information, the two other juveniles inside the home were removed by DCF and placed with a family member.
As a result of this investigation, CCSO officials were able to obtain arrest warrants on all four subjects for the charges of Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child and three counts of Child Neglect each for the deceased and two other children that were present at the time of the incident.
Both Gibson and Allison were additionally charged with Maintaining a Dwelling for the Purposes of Using a Controlled Substance.
The United States Marshall’s Task Force members were able to locate Courtney and Allison in Citrus County, Carroll in Hernando County, and Gibson in Georgia.
