Authorities say the child was found unresponsive Feb. 7 and died after being taken to a hospital.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee man accused of first-degree murder is among four people charged after a 2-year-old was found unresponsive at a Cordova home and later died, a case investigators have tied to fentanyl exposure as they piece together who was responsible for the child’s care and the drugs in the home.
The arrests stretch from Shelby County to the Nashville area and show how quickly a child-death investigation can widen. The three additional defendants face charges centered on aggravated child neglect and criminally negligent homicide, reflecting prosecutors’ claims that unsafe conditions or failures in supervision contributed to the death. Authorities have not publicly named the child, and they have offered only limited public detail about how fentanyl was accessed or when the exposure occurred.
Deputies were sent to a home on Unbridle Way in Cordova on the evening of Feb. 7 after a report of an unresponsive toddler, officials said. Deputies began life-saving measures at the scene until Shelby County Fire personnel arrived, and the child was transported to a hospital. The child did not survive. In describing the response, officials said crews “immediately began life-saving measures,” language that signals the urgency of the call and the narrow window responders had to try to reverse the medical crisis.
Investigators moved quickly in the days after the death. Authorities said a warrant was issued Feb. 17 for Robert Newton, 35. Newton was later located in Ashland City, Tennessee, where U.S. marshals arrested him at a business on Feb. 23. Newton is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and child abuse. Law enforcement has not publicly explained why the case was charged as murder instead of a lesser homicide count, and officials have not released the medical findings or investigative summaries that typically outline how prosecutors believe a death occurred.
In addition to Newton, three others were arrested on Feb. 17: Stephanie Watkins, Beau Watkins and China Bryant, according to information released after the arrests. All three are charged with criminally negligent homicide and aggravated child neglect. Bryant also faces a charge of child abuse or neglect. The charging split suggests investigators are alleging different levels of culpability, with Newton accused of the most serious conduct and the others accused of creating or allowing dangerous conditions for a child. Officials have not said whether the defendants were related to the child, lived in the home, or were visiting at the time.
Public health officials have warned for years that fentanyl can be deadly in tiny amounts, which is why child-exposure investigations often focus on storage, packaging and who had control of a space. National overdose numbers have moved downward in some periods, but leaders continue to frame fentanyl as a major threat. “It is unprecedented to see predicted overdose deaths drop by more than 27,000 over a single year,” Allison Arwady, director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said in a statement about national overdose trends. She added that the decline equals “more than 70 lives saved every day.” In local cases like the Cordova death, investigators still face the same basic questions: where the drug was, how it was handled and who failed to prevent access.
Those questions are central because the defendants now face different paths through the court system. First-degree murder is among the most serious charges in Tennessee and typically brings the harshest sentencing exposure if a conviction is obtained. Criminally negligent homicide and aggravated child neglect, while less severe than murder, still carry the weight of felony allegations that can result in years of imprisonment and long-term consequences. Prosecutors and detectives may also present evidence to a grand jury, which can issue indictments that formalize charges and set the stage for trial.
Authorities have not announced detailed court schedules in the public summaries of the arrests, and they have not released probable cause narratives that would spell out how they believe fentanyl exposure occurred. It is also unclear from public statements whether investigators found drugs at the scene, whether the exposure was accidental ingestion, or whether there were signs of ongoing drug activity inside the home. Those gaps matter because defense attorneys often challenge how responsibility is assigned in a household setting, especially when multiple adults had access to the same rooms, vehicles or personal belongings.
The known timeline remains tight and stark. On Feb. 7, deputies responded to the Cordova address, found the toddler unresponsive and began emergency care. On Feb. 17, three arrests were made and a warrant was issued for Newton. On Feb. 23, marshals arrested Newton in Ashland City, and by Feb. 24 officials said four people were in custody in connection with the death. Investigators have not released the child’s name, and they have not said when additional records, including medical or forensic findings, will be made public through court filings.
Author note: Last updated March 2, 2026.