Whitney Purvis remains behind bars on Tuesday after being denied bond by a Floyd County, Georgia, judge for the three very serious charges she was arrested for on Monday, including felony involuntary manslaughter. The 16 and Pregnant Season 1 star— who is now 33 years old— was also charged with “use of communication facility in commission of a felony involving controlled substances” and intending to distribute a controlled substance.
According to TMZ, Whitney is currently on suicide watch while in jail, after she allegedly made some concerning comments following her arrest. The site also reports that Whitney has been allegedly detoxing from the drugs she had allegedly been using at the time of her arrest.
According to court records obtained by The Ashley, the judge has denied Whitney’s request for a “reasonable” bond, meaning Whitney will remain bars until at least July 17, when her next court date is scheduled. She has obtained an attorney.
As The Ashley previously reported, Whitney has been accused of distributing Tranq— a drug that contains a combination of fentanyl and xylazine— to a friend of hers, John Mark Harris, who died in February after taking the drug.
About a month after John Mark’s overdose, Whitney left a heartfelt message to him in the comment section of his online obituary, writing about the close relationship they apparently had, and mentioning that she didn’t know about his death until a month after he passed away. Whitney also wrote that John Mark had come to her “rescue on many occasions and saved me over the years,” later referencing that they bonded over their “struggles.”
“My condolences to your family and friends,” Whitney wrote on March 3. “I pray they are able to find some kind of comfort during this tragic time.”
Whitney’s condolences to John Mark’s family were not met with warm wishes. In an interview with TMZ on Tuesday, John Mark’s mother, Lisa Harris, said she is glad that Whitney is off the street and behind bars, where Lisa feels she belongs.
“She did this, and as a result, my son is dead,” Lisa stated, adding that she had never met Whitney. “[I’m] glad nobody else must go through this because of her actions.
“The whole thing is so heartbreaking,” she said. “I feel sorry for her — not because she got arrested, but because her life got to a point of dealing drugs.”
The state of Georgia has been cracking down on fentanyl-related crimes since the passing of Senate Bill 465, aka “Austin’s Law,” in 2024.
“Austin’s Law will help save the lives of Georgians by fighting back against the criminals that traffic these deadly substances,” said Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones said in a statement last year. “Actions have consequences, and in Georgia traffickers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The bill created a new offense category —felony aggravated involuntary manslaughter— under which drug dealers and distributors can be prosecuted for their role in a person’s death if they are determined to have helped manufacture or sell the deadly fentanyl drug.
Under the bill, it does not matter if Whitney knew what was in the deadly drugs she allegedly distributed to John Mark Harris. “Austin’s Law” states that the dealer/distributor’s “knowledge of the chemical identity should not be an essential element of the offense” and that the State does not have to prove that the alleged dealer/distributor knew what was in the substance.
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The Georgia Virtue reported that the punishment for this offense will carry a prison sentence of 10-30 years, and can’t be merged with any other offense. Even so, Whitney is looking at some very serious time if she is convicted of this crime.
Whitney’s arrest comes just one month after the death of her 16-year-old son Weston Gosa Jr., who was born during her episode of “16 and Pregnant” in 2009. Although Whitney lost custody of Weston Jr. and his brother River years ago to their father, Weston Gosa, she was very outspoken following her son’s death, even implying that Weston Sr. was to blame for the teen’s death because he wasn’t taking care of his health. Whitney— who had not seen her sons in years— also claimed she was suspicious of Weston Sr. because he had a small life insurance policy taken out for Weston Jr.
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In addition to Weston Jr. and River, Whitney is also the mother of two-year-old Collin (whose father is not Weston Sr.) According to a local source, Whitney did not have custody of Collin at the time of her arrest. The boy had been under the care of Whitney’s grandma, Celia “Memaw” Burkhalter, who appeared on Whitney’s “16 and Pregnant” episode. “Memaw” unfortunately died in October 2024, so it’s unknown who currently has custody of the boy.
Whitney has a long history of arrests— many of which are for eyebrow-raising offenses. In 2024, she was arrested for unpaid child support. (She reportedly owed her baby daddy Weston Sr. more than $20,000 in child support.) In 2022, she was arrested for making “terroristic threats” against an ex-boyfriend. In 2015, Whitney was arrested for breaking into Weston Sr.’s house and allegedly attacking him with a broom. In 2012, Whitney was arrested for shoplifting after she thieved a pregnancy test from Walmart and proceeded to pee on it inside the store’s bathroom.
Whitney appeared on the very first season of “16 and Pregnant” alongside the four girls who went on to appear on Teen Mom: Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell, Amber Portwood and Farrah Abraham. Whitney and fellow Season 1 girl Ebony Jackson were the only two girls from the season who were not chosen to move forward with the franchise.
The Ashley will update this story when more info is available. Stay tuned…
RELATED STORY: “16 & Pregnant” Season 1 Star Whitney Purvis Arrested for Felony Involuntary Manslaughter: Details
50 Responses
Not defending her in anyway possible because I don’t know her story but…I don’t think she’s to blame (why does someone other than him have to be at fault anyway). He obviously wanted it, if she wouldn’t have got to for him he wouldve got it elsewhere. Shes an addict not a dealer. She either used with him or made some off of getting it for him. It’s sad that he lost his life but as an addict he was gambling with his life every day.
Somehow I doubt this addict was “trafficking” anything or doing it for the $$. I’m positive it was to feed her addiction & the guy who died was a grown ass man who made a decision & likely was getting high before Whitney & would have continued after her. This feels like a real force
Her mother, father, step-father, etc. have histories of selling, distributing, etc. So it isn’t too far of a reach that she has a role in that too. We’re not talking kingpin level here but there is a history.
I’m sure that the mother of the deceased is speaking out in anger and distress. While her son made bad choices, Whitney may have contributed by supplying him the drug as alleged. There are some unanswered questions here. Was it his first time using this combination? Did he normally get high with something else and she provided this as an alternative? That info could paint it all in a different light.
I will say this as an addict in recovery- an addict that tales accountability for my actions and choices- my dad died of a fentanyl overdose and he was the one to decide to procure those drugs. We know who he got them from and yeah, I could go after the man that gave it to him but at the end of the day, he knew he was taking a chance in receiving what he thought was vicodin, when it was laced with fentanyl. I do believe addiction is a disease and while I am in no way defending Whitney, Mark decided to take those drugs. People, especially parents (such as his mother) will always want to blame someone- and usually not the person that actually passed away. As a person that has lost one of the closest people in her life to an overdose, I think unless a person is unknowingly taking these drugs (like the drugs are put in a drink or food- something like that), THEY are responsible for their own demise. It’s a tough one because yes, while they thought they were getting a substance like vicodin or a benzo, but really it was cut with fentanyl- they were aware that fentanyl could be in what they were obtaining. If, god forbid, I ever ended up dead after willingly ingesting drugs I thought were safe, I certainly would not want my mom to go after the person that I chose to receive drugs from- if they were fatal.
I absolutely agree with you. Being both a recovering addict and someone who lost a family member under similar circumstances.
“She did this, and as a result, my son is dead,” Lisa stated, adding that she had never met Whitney. “[I’m] glad nobody else must go through this because of her actions.”
Okay. I’m not defending Whitney. She’s 100% trash to the core after all we’ve learned. But his mama needs to put some of the blame on her son. He CHOSE to do the drugs, just like Whitney did. His own choices led to his death, Whitney may have supplied him with the drugs, but she didn’t force him to do them. I’m not against this law or Whitney being charged at all, I’m glad it’s getting dealers off the streets, but I hate the lack of accountability for personal choices. I’ve explained “Dopehead Mentality” on here before (not just about being an addict, but a total lack of accountability and always the victim, with or without being on drugs) and this is like Dopehead Mentality by Proxy.
You have absorbed a lot of misinformation about addiction. It’s not a victim mentality, it’s a disease. Please educate yourself.
NO, it’s called common sense and not enabling. Things need to change.
Before it was ever a disease , it was a choice . Once you get in deep, your brain chemistry is altered and you are now addicted . And it’s a disease. But it started from a choice . And dealers should be held responsible for dealing death, but let’s not take the blame off the person who did the drugs. If he hadn’t gotten them from Whitney , he would have gotten them somewhere else .
Supply and demand. As long as there are people who want to get high, there will always be dealers to service their wants. If there were no buyers there would be no sellers.
I’ve had my life ruined and nearly been beaten to death by a dopehead that “couldn’t help it,” and then I had to rebuild while he’s barely been held accountable. I’ve also known a ton of addicts and I will tell you right now that the ONLY way to TRULY recover is to shake that dopehead mentality, take accountability for your choices and the pain you’ve caused others, and work hard to make better choices from here on out. Some people get clean without shaking that mentality and they almost always relapse. Sorry if the truth hurts your feelings, but our society has done everybody a major disservice by not holding addicts 100% accountable for their choices. At the end of the day, it’s always a choice. Yeah, once you’ve started doing hard drugs your brain gets rewired, but you still made the choice to start and you’re still completely able to, at any point in time, chose to say enough is enough and stop. People with cancer don’t have the privilege to be able to wake up one morning and rid themselves of their disease. Even people with other diseases that they developed from their past choices like Type 2 Diabetes or COPD can’t cure themselves with pure will power. An addict always has that choice. So don’t come at me with that coddling bullshit.
No, its not a disease. Its a choice. Addicts CHOOSE to pick up that pipe, needle, straw, whatever.
How do you hold a dead person accountable?
His mom has said that she knew he had his demons and his issues and that his choices were his own choices to make in life. She does, or at least did, hold him accountable for his choices. She also holds other people accountable for their choices. So, while yes we should hold addicts responsible for the choices they make in regards to their addictions, we can also hold those who make those choices readily available to them (which is ALSO illegal, to say the very least). Two things can be true at one time. Addicts, despite having a disease (and despite it not starting out as a disease, but rather a choice), are responsible for their choices. Dealers, for whom there is no “dealer’s disease”, are also responsible for their choices (and the same applies to them if they are also addicts themselves…they’re responsible). In both cases, they are responsible for the outcome(s) of those choices, even if it includes death. You can point fingers at an addict, holding them responsible for their choices, of course. But dealers STILL damn well know what they’re doing. They know the products they peddle kill people. They should be held just as accountable. Again, both can be true at once. They are both responsible.
She’s in trouble because she *knew* the drugs were laced, we can’t forget that fact. She wasn’t just out here selling shit possibly cut with too much laxative, she was selling something she knew had fentanyl. We know fentanyl kills, *she knows fentanyl kills, she intentionally gave someone something that would kill them. Then she made a big deal out of missing the person after she knew she killed him to rub it in their faces. He no longer holds the bulk of the responsibility at this point. He holds some, for his choices, but she holds more (which is what the court will prove). His mom has every right to be mad at him for his choices and also glad that Whitney is behind bars so she doesn’t kill anyone else.
Did you not see where I agreed Whitney needs to be in jail too? These severe punishments may make dealers think twice, so I’m all for it. But his mama’s words are putting too much of the blame onto her when it was him that chose to do it. She literally said that Whitney is THE reason her son is dead. No. Her son is the reason her son is dead. He’d have gotten drugs elsewhere had he not gotten them from Whitney and he would have likely eventually came upon some cut ones because that’s a risk addicts take. Saying that he “had his demons” isn’t the same as saying “While my son made a bad choice that ultimately led to his death, dealers like Whitney need to also be severely punished.” Whitney is garbage and deserves the charge and prison, but he’s still responsible for his own actions and taking drugs that even the dumbest of people know are highly likely to be cut with more dangerous drugs these days. In fact, how do we know he wasn’t just as aware of what it was as Whitney was? It’s not like he was some naive kid, he was apparently just as much of an addict as Whitney. So, yeah, be mad at her, but be just as mad at him and don’t try minimize that his choices led to his death.
Whitney knowingly distributed lethal fentanyl, and communicated this fact before she did it (this is part of her charges), she does hold the bulk of the blame for his death. She doesn’t hold it all, but she certainly holds the bulk of it. His mom also said he is responsible for the choices he made too. She didn’t take any of the blame off him, she put the bulk on Whitney though, where it belongs. If you read more on what his mom had to say about it, she didn’t say he had no hand in his death or that she minimized his choices in the least.
We’ll have to agree to disagree because I see it as him having the bulk of the responsibility for his death.
I disagree with u . Agree with the other comment . The mom is looking for someone to blame . This man took the drugs or it would be murder not manslaughter. As a recovering addict u know u take that change . This wasn’t a laced pill . He wanted fent . Rip young man.
I don’t mind agreeing to disagree. He made his choices too, he’s also responsible for the outcome of those choices.
It’s not Whitney’s first rodeo with this, so I can fully understand why this man’s family puts as much of the blame on her as they do. They have every right to be mad at him for the choices he made (which they are, if you read more about it other than just here, his mom DOES place a lot of responsibility on him for his choices), and also mad at her for continuing to not care one iota if she kills someone. Her blatant disregard for him and his family with her comments on his obituary and her flippant attitude since just shows how absolutely heinous she truly is. His mom didn’t place as much of the blame on her until she did that.
It’s also not as if she didn’t know what was in the drugs, which might change my opinion slightly.
💯💯💯💯
& I doubt she “supplied them” they prob both knew the dealer/where they were coming from it just so happened they used her phone to procure them
Didn’t Memaw have cancer in the episode? She was old AF back then and that was 16yrs ago. That poor woman looking after a baby. Where’s Whitney’s mother????? She was having a baby at the same time as her teenager from memory.
Whitney seemed stupid to me. Super immature and just zero intelligence. I guess I wasn’t wrong.
Obviously her photo with Weston was the latest one she had if she hadn’t seen him since he was 10. What a shithouse human being she become.
Her mother has her own addiction issues and did some time for selling and distributing. In a follow up Memaw was going through treatment for breast cancer and Whitney was attending a technical college to become a nurse. I don’t believe she finished. Both of her parents have addiction issues and her mother was/is known for supplying drugs to quite a few people. Last time I was in the area, Whitney was considered an easy person to call if you wanted to get high.
Yes, Whitney’s mother was pregnant at the same time and had a baby boy named Toccoa. She and her husband/boyfriend were living with Memaw in the primary bedroom while Weston and Whitney lived in the secondary bedroom. Memaw slept on the couch. I remember in the original episode Memaw tells them the landlord wants to sell the place and Whitney was whining that it wasn’t fair because she and her mom were about to give birth. That would be seven people (counting two babies) living in a two bedroom.
Yeah I remember all that. Except the mum having addiction issues. What a mess.
Omg didn’t even know she had 3 kids. Thought just 2. How sad
Wow she looks so much better with darker hair. Shes unrecognizable with that blonde hair- maybe it’s that and the drugs 🤷♀️
don’t y’all feel silly for defending her and attacking a mourning father who was actually taking care of his kids? it’s sad that not even losing her grandma could’ve gotten her to get it together and now she lost her son and she’s out here doing this??? unfortunately jail is what she needs right now and i pray collin is at least in a loving stable home now
Exactly. Where are all the people who claimed that she was treated unfairly and kept from her kids? They’re being awfully quiet.
This. I was a villain for calling her a deadbeat mom. She hadn’t seen that poor child in six years and was lying through her teeth about being sober. She showed up to the funeral late and then lied and said she was kept away…but her parents made it on time and were let in. We’ve had an uptick on defenders of shitty parenting here recently. Probably projection from idiots just as bad as she is. And for all those people who are gonna be like, “addiction is a disease!” Yeah, I know. I have it. Been in recovery for years. But diseases don’t get cured of you don’t TREAT IT.
Same. The amount of people who defend some of the trash mentioned in these articles is a bit frightening.
OK though…nobody forced this guy to do drugs. I feel for victims, but in no way is it 100 percent all her fault this man had died. He would have likely overdosed anyways, or gotten bad drugs somewhere else. Just the way the game goes unfortunately but his mom is out of line and needs to do some reflection on why her kid chose that life. And continually chose it over his own life.
This isn’t her first rodeo with bad drugs. She knew they were cut, knew they are what killed him, and knew she’s the one that did it…..and STILL had the balls to comment on his obituary to his family. That’s all beyond fucking disturbing, but becomes so much worse when you take in her whole history. His mom is so far not out of line, it’s insane to think she is. Whitney belongs behind bars, that is a fact.
Is it her fault he died? Yes, it is her fault. Is it her fault he was an addict? No, that’s not her fault. But that’s what these laws which are only recently being introduced (far overdue, imo) were created to help differentiate. They put fault where it should be. Even if the dealer doesn’t know the drugs are bad, and cut, they DO know the drugs are dangerous regardless and they DO know they can harm or kill people even without being cut with more lethal substances. They go into this not caring one iota about the potential outcome. Do they force people to do drugs? Nope, but they make them readily available and they do so with the full knowledge it may (and in cases like this one, probably will) kill someone. Again, this is why these laws are being introduced so that more responsibility is placed on the shoulders of the people who are still here, the dealers. If he had survived, he could be charged too, but he didn’t. He died because she didn’t care who she killed, full stop.
If you do something that kills another human being, you are a killer. That’s the literal definition.
“If you do something that kills another human being, you are a killer”
Ok then. How come we don’t arrest every gun store employee who sells a bullet that eventually kills someone? Or every gun store owner? Or if someone lets their friend without a license borrow their car and the friend crashes and dies, should they be arrested?
Jeez what ever happened to personal accountability 🙄
The people who sell ammo don’t kill people. They are not the end user, neither is the gun store owner. They did not cause the death of another person. You’re talking apples and oranges here with this particular comparison, as it doesn’t apply and there is even legislation within the gun laws we do have that stipulates things like this.
The accident one is a better comparison, although still not truly accurate. People can be, and have been, charged for allowing an unlicensed driver use their vehicle if it results in a vehicular incident, especially death. If they knowingly allowed them to drive the vehicle unlicensed, they can be charged. If they don’t know they are unlicensed, they won’t likely be charged, but they *could be even then.
Again, we can hold more than one person responsible for something if someone dies as a *direct* (keyword here) result of their actions-as I stated “If you do something that kills another human being, you are a killer”. It’s a pretty on point fact, not real sure why you’re trying to argue it isn’t, lol. We can hold addicts responsible for their choices, while also holding dealers responsible for theirs as well. I don’t know why so many people seem to not grasp this concept. “Jeez whatever happened to personal accountability” goes both ways here.
Most of those that you mention are handled in civil court if at all. Gun lobbyists make it hard to go after stores. Insurance covers them pretty well so they have less risk of liability. However, if you as a private citizen sell a gun to someone, you have zero protection.
And yes, loaning out a vehicle that then gets used in a crime or results in a death will get you in trouble too. If they don’t arrest you for something, they will come after you for money.
mmm…I’d like to see your proof that she knew giving him those drugs would 100 percent kill him. Seems an awful lot of enabling assuming bro
I’m not enabling anything. He’s responsible for his choices, all addicts are. The choice to use drugs doesn’t start out as addiction, it starts off as a choice. It can become addiction in those with the disposition for it to do so (and not everyone has that). At that point, addiction is a disease and people have the choice to treat it or not. Some do, and some don’t, most who do will struggle while treating it, and a great many manage to do so (albeit sometimes it takes many years), while others just can’t. I don’t enable addicts, I know the reality of addiction, how it can begin, how people can ignore it until it’s too late, how it affects not just the addict but those around them. I also know what it looks like when people treat addiction, including the good, the bad and the ugly. I won’t enable dealers either, though. Addicts and dealers are responsible for their choices.
She knew the drugs had fentanyl, and it’s not her first rodeo with them. There is already proof she knowingly had a hand in the manufacturing or distribution of lethal fentanyl which lead to a death (or else she wouldn’t have been arrested for it, there are some strict requirements for such an arrest, the scope isn’t that vague, and not every state has them). The communication part of her charges include the information that she knew it was fentanyl (a controlled substance). Her charges are pretty hefty, but also really specific and *have* to include the “knowingly” specification. We know fentanyl kills. She knows fentanyl kills. It’s not some weird unknown potential side effect that has little research or information out there.
You clearly are someone connected to the victim to claim to know so much . I do disagree this man was looking for a loratab and was most likely unable to get high off boi any longer and asked for fentanyl. That accountability needs to be acknowledged by his mother. He was probably an intravenous user to even be using two power combination of drugs more deadly than heroin. If u can tell me he didn’t know it had fentanyl in it I might agree but I doubt thya is the case.
No, before I comment on thing, I like to get a bigger picture. Although I do thoroughly enjoy this site as much as the next person, I also know that there is often more information out there sometimes, and it’s worth reading occasionally. I do not know these people. I do know a lot about addiction, addicts, etc..but I don’t know these individuals personally. I have to learn more about them before I can speak on it, I can only speak on my own experiences and knowledge otherwise. I don’t know if he knew it had fent in it, but I do know SHE knew, it’s why she had tranq to begin with, and why her charges are what they are (not just the distribution of a controlled substances but also communicating the *intent* to distribute a lethal substance). Her charges aren’t just distro, they’re pretty specific with inclusions of prior knowledge, admission and intent.
I absolutely acknowledge his accountability-as I have stated several times now, as does his family (again, if you look somewhere other than this one source, you’ll see that). His mom didn’t even place any of the blame on her until her flippant attitude started and her commentary on his obituary and their social media started blowing up because of the way she was acting and things she was sayind, despite knowing it was the *lethal* drugs she gave him that killed him (and yes, again, it was his choice to take them, it was her choice to give/sell them, as well, two wrongs don’t make a right). She was, and is, so dismissive of her own involvement in his death and it makes perfect sense why his family would take a “wtf” attitude back towards her and her total disregard for other human beings. She, clearly, doesn’t value any human beings, other than herself, and she deserves all the negativity she receives because of it.
Agreed.
Drugs are bad.
No such thing as a “good drug” out on the streets.
He would still be alive if she had not given him the drugs. That’s the point you are blatantly missing. She was selling FENTANYL.
No, he would be alive if he didn’t do drugs.
Or he would have just gotten dope from someone else and likely overdosed anyway. Should dealers be charged if someone dies ? Yes . Should the addict be praised like an innocent victim? No.
It’s a sad moment when you look at that 16&pregnant picture and realize only two of those mothers haven’t lost custody of their child and that one of those people is Farrah
I was looking at that picture and realizing they’re all train wrecks, or at least were at one point. Maybe Maci is an exception, but she’s made some questionable choices and might be an alcoholic. Haven’t heard anything on Ebony in years – hopefully that means her life is in order now.
She pretends her life is in order, but it’s definitely not. In 2011 her and her husband had their daughter taken away because they had her living in pure filth and squalor (they were neglecting her but this is also classified, legally, as abuse). They eventually got her back and had another kid but in 2013 were divorced. She jumped right back on another dick and had another kid. She claims she’s been to rehab, but I’m fairly certain that was court ordered. Josh had custody of their girls until he was convicted of attempted murder (he “almost” ran over the cops after stealing a car) and got sentenced to prison but is up for parole in 2027 or something like that. Ebony has her youngest kid, but not the other two. Josh’s mom has custody of the older two girls and has for years, they live states away. She claimed back in 2023 that she “planned” to get back in touch with her older girls, but I doubt it ever actually happened. She’s still a trainwreck, imo. She claims otherwise and she goes on amber-esque rants online (with some pretty incredulous claims) about it and how she’s a damn good mom (she’s not) every now and then. I’m pretty sure this site has at least some of it.
Honestly, their daughter should have never been returned to their care at all, it’s been downhill ever since (despite all the “changes” she claims).
Had she really not seen the kid who died recently in 6 years?! That’s what they are claiming.
Unfortunately yes. The stepmother confirmed it in several interviews. She also said that she was allowed supervised visitation at a family center monitored by the court but refused to set it up to see him. Then after he dies she attacks the only parents that have raised him and said they wouldn’t allow her to see him. She’s a real piece of work.
Jesus god Leah… this woman’s grandmother had to care for her 2 year old great-grandson up until her DEATH?! Some people truly should not be allowed to reproduce…
People like Meemaw are the closest thing this country has to a safety net.
They shouldn’t have to be.
I’m pretty sure the first thing we ever heard about Whitney in the news after she was on 16 & pregnant was back in 2011 when her mom (Memaw’s daughter) was arrested for drugs as well, & Whitney’s mother was also pregnant at the same time as her so I wonder if Memaw also took in Whitney’s baby brother when her mom was arrested. Seems like a family issue, generational perhaps. So sad.