BROOKSVILLE – A local mother charged in the drug overdose death of her toddler daughter said she is too destitute to pay her attorney’s fees.
Defense counsel Jimmy Brown filed a motion last week on his client’s behalf that would declare her indigent and entitled to “due process costs.”
Tiffany Lynn Mitchell, 26, of Spring Hill, was charged with aggravated manslaughter last month in connection with the Jan. 31 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Bella.
An autopsy revealed the girl had oxycodone in her system when she died, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Brown sought a reduction in Mitchell’s bond after her arrest and a judge agreed to drop it from $15,000 to $10,000. The bail was paid and collateral was provided “wholly by family members,” according to the motion filed in court.
Mitchell, who receives unemployment, is a single mother with two dependent children – ages 5 and 7 – and they reside with her and her husband, Brown stated.
The defendant has no equity, investment accounts, stocks, bonds or even bank accounts, according to court records.
Brown stated Mitchell qualifies for public defender services and would be eligible for state funding.
Brown’s defense services would include a private investigator, forensic pathologist, toxicologist, pharmacologist, mental health professional and more, according to his motion.
The judge is expected to rule on the motion in the coming weeks.
Detectives said Mitchell did not have an oxycodone prescription when her daughter died.
They also said Mitchell had changed her story during her two interviews.
She initially said in March she had no knowledge of Bella ingesting oxycodone, but contacted detectives the next day and told them she had placed a pill on her night stand before she took a shower. When she got out of the shower, she noticed the pill was missing, according to an arrest report.
She searched for the pill the night of Jan. 30, but never found it. The following morning, Bella was dead, deputies said.
Brown said there are “at least six different possibilities” as to how Mitchell’s daughter had oxycodone in her system.
http://liarcatchers.com/civil_investigations.html
