On Monday, Whitney Purvis, who appeared on the first season of 16 and Pregnant, was arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter and drug distribution. According to police records obtained by the Cut, Purvis, now 33, sold drugs to a man who later died of an overdose.
Purvis is accused of selling “tranq” — a combination of xylazine and fentanyl — to the overdose victim, according to an affidavit obtained by People. The victim was identified as a 37-year-old man named John M. Harris.
Purvis, who appeared on 16 and Pregnant in 2009 as a pregnant teen living in Georgia, has faced a number of legal issues in recent years, including arrests for failing to pay child support and threatening her ex-boyfriend, Weston Gosa. According to TMZ, she lost custody of the child she was carrying during the season, Weston Gosa Jr., and her other son, River, in the years since appearing on the show.
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In June, Purvis announced that 16-year-old Weston Jr. had died suddenly at his father’s home. In a Facebook post, she called it her “worst nightmare come true.” In a statement posted the same day, per People, Weston’s stepmother, Amy Gosa, said they found Weston unresponsive and not breathing in bed the morning of June 2. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Gosa said his cause of death was not immediately known, but that he had multiple health issues, including diabetes.
According to police records, Purvis is being held without bond.
