An autopsy report obtained by FOX 17 News shows Ariel Rose, a 23-month-old, had 12 times the lowest reported lethal dose of fentanyl in her system when she died.
This comes after Ariel died at a transitional housing site for the homeless in November.
Metro police are now investigating this case as negligent homicide, with no one charged yet.
“I know for the family it was absolutely heartbreaking,” says Gerard Stranch, the attorney for Ariel’s grandfather, Mickey Rose.
“And ultimately, the family feels like her death could have been prevented?” asks FOX 17 News’ Amanda Chin.
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“Oh absolutely. This was a needless death,” says Stranch.
Mickey plans to file a lawsuit against the owner of the building Ariel died at, KNGDM Group, and the tenant leasing from the owner, Community Care Fellowship, in the coming weeks.
“They have a duty and an obligation to provide a safe facility for the people that they are leasing to and providing housing to and they utterly failed in this case,” says Stranch.
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The Executive Director of Community Care Fellowship tells FOX17 News in a statement,
Community Care Fellowship (CCF) has a decades-long history of serving people experiencing homelessness and other marginalized persons in the Nashville area. Sadly, Ariel Rose passed away last November while she had been entrusted to the care of family friends by family members. Those friends were residents of a private residential unit furnished to them under a lease agreement by CCF. Ariel was spending the night in that unit, along with the family friends, at the time of her death. The CCF staff have expressed their sympathy and support to Ariel’s family in this tragic and unforeseeable event.
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FOX17 News also reached out to KNGDM Group, whose attorney tells us,
We were deeply saddened by the news of Ariel Rose’s passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family. As a mission-driven company, we often work with churches, nonprofits, and other organizations who are helping serve our local community and its needs. KNGDM Group is the owner of the building at issue. Since June 2021, Community Care Fellowship has leased this building and provides all resident intake, engagement and services. KNGDM Group has no involvement in Community Care Fellowship’s management of the program. We hope this tragic situation will lead to greater systematic changes in how Nashville addresses homelessness and drug addiction in our community.
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“So whoever caused her to have those drugs needs to be held accountable, absolutely,” says Lisa Wysocky, the founder of the nonprofit Colby’s Army.
Colby’s Army did outreach for years at Brookmeade Park’s homeless encampment, where Ariel had been spotted several times last year.
“No child needs to be in a homeless encampment. No child needs to be around drugs,” says Wysocky.
Stranch says one of the family’s goals is to make sure no other family has to suffer the loss of a child this way again.
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“We as a society lost a child that we never should have lost. She’ll never be able to grow up, never graduate high school, never walk down the aisle with a loved one, never have children of her own all because she was allowed to be in a facility that had drugs everywhere,” says Stranch.
Brett Pritts is the Assistant Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Nashville and talks about the broader and dangerous fentanyl crisis the city’s facing.
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“From 2019 to 2021, the largest increase in overdose fatalities amongst an age group were 14 years and younger,” says Pritts.
Just from October to the end of December of last year, fentanyl was the main driver in the increased number of drug overdose deaths in Davidson County.
The Nashville Fire Chief tells FOX 17 News they work closely with the health department and the police department to find ways to mitigate what the chief calls a quiet pandemic.
But for Ariel, it was too late.
