Whitney Blake Purvis, who previously appeared on MTV’s 16 & Pregnant, is in police custody and faces felony involuntary manslaughter charges in connection to a fatal drug overdose earlier this year.
The charges stem from an incident on February 16, 2025, in Rome, Georgia, in which officers responded to a home to find 28-year-old John Mark Harris deceased, according to police records obtained by FOX5 Atlanta.
An arrest warrant accuses Purvis of providing Harris with a drug mixture known as “Tranq,” a combination of fentanyl and xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer increasingly linked to overdose deaths across the country.
Police allege the substance directly contributed to Harris’ death.
Purvis gained national attention in 2009 when she was featured on the first season of 16 & Pregnant, a show that followed the lives of young women navigating teen motherhood.
Her arrest this week comes just over a month after the June 2 death of her 16-year-old son, Weston Owen Gosa. She had Weston Jr with her partner Weston Owen Senior, but the couple broke up shortly after the birth. They reconciled and had their second child, River, in 2014, before breaking up again.
The family has stated that the teen died from an illness, though they are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the official cause.
At the time of her son’s death, Purvis wrote on Facebook: “This is so hard to write. My beautiful son, Weston, has passed away. He was only 16 years old. Life is so cruel and unfair. I just don’t understand. Oh my baby is gone and I don’t know what to do with myself. He was so perfect. This is really my worst nightmare come true.”
She described the horror of the ordeal as she asked: “How do you go on in life after losing a child? I’m in disbelief, this cannot be happening. I don’t want it to be real. I would do anything just to hold him.”
“Words just can’t describe the pain I am feeling,” Purvis continued. “I love you so much, Weston Owen Gosa. God, I love you so much. You are my heart. I was so proud of the young man you were becoming. I just can’t go on without you. Rest in Peace, my angel. You are gone too soon. April 2, 2009 – June 2, 2025.”
This is not Purvis’ first run-in with the law.
She has previously been arrested on misdemeanor charges, including shoplifting and contempt of court related to child support.
