A 33-year-old Indianapolis mother is facing a felony charge after her 10-year-old child nearly died from ingesting methadone the woman kept near her bed. Sabricia Witherspoon was charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, a Level 3 felony, after the child became unresponsive but kept breathing and needed two doses of Narcan before being rushed to a children's hospital.
According to court documents described by Fox 59, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a reported overdose involving the 10-year-old in May at a home in the 3700 block of Yellow Poplar Court, on the city's near northwest side. Witherspoon reportedly told investigators the child had seemed unwell and had been lying in bed with her before she asked another person to watch the child while she showered. That person later alerted Witherspoon that something was wrong with the child, court documents say.
Child Was Found Unresponsive but Breathing
The child was found not waking up but still breathing, and was deemed to be in a life-threatening situation, according to the court documents cited by the outlet. She received two doses of Narcan before being transported to a local children's hospital. Court documents said the child had likely taken some of her mother's prescribed methadone — she later tested positive for methadone and negative for all other drugs and narcotics.
Investigators said Witherspoon usually kept her prescribed methadone locked in a box out of children's reach, but had reportedly left it around her bed that day. The child told police she found the lock box on the floor next to the bed. A minor who was also present told police the 10-year-old said she wanted to taste the medication after hearing Witherspoon say it tasted bad. The minor said she did not think the situation was a big deal because she thought the medication was sleep medicine.
Child Told Police She Knew the Rule
Despite reaching for the methadone, the child told investigators she knew she was not supposed to touch the medication and said she was unsure why she took it anyway, according to the court documents. An arrest warrant for Witherspoon was issued on October 13, more than four months after the incident, the documents show. She now faces the Level 3 felony neglect charge in Marion County.
The case echoes another Indianapolis incident in which a 3-year-old boy died after allegedly ingesting methadone left out by a 69-year-old caregiver who was high on heroin, according to a separate Fox 59 report from February 2025. A similar pattern has surfaced outside Indiana as well — Local 12 reported on a Pickaway County, Ohio woman facing felony charges after a young child in her custody died with fentanyl in the child's system.
Indiana's Department of Health maintains a statewide dashboard tracking drug-overdose injuries, opioid prescriptions, and prevention efforts across counties.
