Father sentenced to ten years in prison after causing the drug overdose death of his 13-month-old son.

Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Father sentenced to ten years in prison after causing the drug overdose death of his 13-month-old son.

Anthony W. Mixon, 40, previously pleaded guilty to felony child endangering and involuntary manslaughter.

Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly Cottrill handed down the sentence involving an August 26, 2024 incident where law enforcement responded to an emergency call about a dead baby.

When officers arrived, they were directed to a bedroom where they found the body of the dead 13-month-old. The baby’s grandmother, Naomi Mixon, 61, of Zanesville, met the police at the door.

The grandmother, Naomi Mixon, told police her son Anthony Mixon, a known fentanyl user, was in the home earlier in the evening but she was unaware when he left. The grandmother watched the child until the child went to sleep sometime after 10 p.m.

The grandmother told law enforcement that she noticed the child was groggy and out of sorts, but thought it was because a melatonin gummy she had given the child to make the child sleep. The melatonin was adult strength and never intended for use on a child.

Around 3 a.m., Naomi Mixon noticed the baby was not breathing and was cold to the touch. Anthony Mixon eventually returned to the home after a night of using drugs with a friend.

Toxicology reports from the autopsy showed the baby had fentanyl and cocaine in his bloodstream which resulted in death by acute and toxic drug overdose.

Mixon also pleaded guilty to charges that he bit a deputy officer while he was in jail on a suicide watch.

After reviewing victim impact statements and the sentencing arguments of Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Michael Hughes, who handled the case, Judge Cottrill issued the decade-long sentence.

Muskingum County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Welch says Mixon’s case demonstrates why the Prosecutor’s Office pursues tough sentences for drug runners.

Prosecutor Welch appreciated the sentence, but says some criminals deserve more punishment than the law allows.



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Father sentenced to ten years in prison after causing the drug overdose death of his 13-month-old son.