NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After a year-long investgation into Ariel Rose's death from fentanyl toxicity, 36-year-old Jesse Mashburn and 46-year-old Melissa Sutton have been arrested for her first-degree murder.
They were both caring for her when she died, according to Metro Police, but neither of them are Ariel's parents or legal guardians. She was found dead on Nov. 11, just a few weeks away from her second birthday.
Rose spent the night with Sutton, and autopsy reports showed Rose was exposed to enough fentanyl to kill multiple grown adults.
A lawsuit filed by Rose’s grandparents against the transitional care facility says the child was left in the care of Sutton at the time of her drug exposure. Police say both Sutton and Mashburn were considered friends of the family. They were caring for her at a residence on 25th Avenue North when she was found unresponsive.
Rose’s father Jonathon had been living at the transitional care facility at the time, but we later found out that Ariel had also been in-between homes.
Ariel first came to our attention in early 2022, when cameras captured her living in the Brookmeade Park homeless encampment. Video surfaced of her there with her father and another woman, living in a tent. Police noted that the tent was surrounded by mud and used syringes.
NewsChannel 5 spoke with Ariel's grandfather, who said DCS should have acted sooner to take custody of his grandchild away from her parents, who struggled with substance abuse.
It's not clear yet if anyone else may face charges in the future.
Police say they had plenty of evidence to collect and process including surveillance video that ultimately pointed to both Mashburn and Sutton as the prime suspects.
They say it took months to go through all the evidence which is why the investigation lasted as long as it did. Sutton and Mashburn are being held on $100,000 bonds.
This is a developing story.
For more information regarding Ariel Rose, watch our previous reports below.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
