Odessa couple charged after nine-year-old hospitalized with fentanyl poisoning
An Odessa, Missouri, couple is facing multiple child abuse charges after a nine-year-old in their care was hospitalized with fentanyl poisoning earlier this year.
William J. Ellingworth, 31, and Krystal Harris, 33, were charged this week in Lafayette County Court with three counts each of felony child abuse or neglect. Ellingworth was also charged with second-degree drug trafficking, also a felony, according to court records.
First responders in Odessa received a 911 call around 10:40 p.m. on Feb. 19 regarding a nine-year-old boy who had stopped breathing at a house on South Fifth Street, according to court documents. While bringing the child to a local hospital in an ambulance, emergency medical responders gave him a dose of Narcan, which is used to reverse an opioid overdose, court documents read.
According to court documents, the Narcan had a “positive” effect on the child, who allegedly tested positive for fentanyl, amphetamines and nicotine upon arriving at the hospital. The child told investigators that he had been watching a movie on his mother and stepfather’s bed right before the incident, according to court documents.
Officers confiscated drug paraphernalia with cocaine and fentanyl remnants from Ellingworth and Harris’ home, including from a table directly next to the bed in question, according to court documents. Ellingworth and Harris allegedly told investigators that Ellingworth had used fentanyl in the bed since the sheets were last changed.
Odessa police also noted that the three children in the house, ages 10, 9 and 4, were found among conditions described as neglectful and unlivable, including piles of trash and old food, foul odor and many bugs.
Harris, the child’s mother, also tested positive for cocaine and amphetamines at the time of her arrest. Prosecutors noted that Harris had pulled her two older children out of the Odessa School District after staff “hotlined” her for alleged abuse and neglect in September 2024.
Ellingworth, the child’s stepfather, was arrested on charges of possession of fentanyl about two months before the incident, according to court records. He was also previously convicted of domestic assault, for which he was incarcerated.
Ellingworth is being held on a $50,000 cash bond, and Harris on a $15,000 cash bond, according to court records. Ellingworth pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday, while Harris has not yet entered a plea.
