Inset, left to right: Tynisha Lashae Jones (Anderson County Sheriff’s Office) and Talayah Lucille Donaldson (Marcus D. Brown Funeral Home). Background: the South Carolina area where Jones allegedly killed Talayah (Google Maps).
A 34‑year‑old mother from South Carolina now faces accusations of killing her 10‑month‑old daughter by giving the infant a lethal dose of morphine inside their home.
Authorities arrested Tynisha Lashae Jones and charged her with one count of homicide by child abuse in connection with Talayah Lucille Donaldson’s death, according to court records.
The investigation kicked off on Dec. 12, 2025, when emergency responders arrived at a Howland Drive residence at 11:44 a.m. after receiving a call about an unresponsive infant, reported the Greenville, SC Fox affiliate WHNS.
First responders administered lifesaving measures before transporting the baby to AnMed Health Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The Anderson County Coroner’s Office later confirmed the victim’s identity as Talayah.
Detectives questioned Jones and several other individuals, searched the Howland Drive home, and collected a blood sample from the infant for laboratory analysis, WYFF reported.
Months after Talayah’s death, the initial lab results returned, showing a lethal concentration of morphine in the baby’s blood. The death was subsequently classified as a homicide.
“What this case came down to was, the specimen was sent, the results were received and then our suspicions were immediately raised because children should not have morphine at all in their system, it’s not administered by any hospital or EMS staff that we knew of in Anderson County,” Anderson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kendall Cash told WYFF.
He added that the amount of morphine in the child’s system would have been “enough (morphine) for a grown person to overdose.”
The sample underwent a second and third analysis at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) laboratory to verify the original finding.
Coroner Greg Shore explained that officials wanted to confirm the test’s accuracy before deciding how the drug contributed to the infant’s death.
“When we have a positive test we certainly want to make sure that it is positive and those drugs are indeed in fact a factor in that death, so in this case, the test was run more times,” he told WYFF.
After further interviews and a thorough review of the evidence, detectives concluded that Jones allegedly administered the fatal morphine dose to her daughter.
Investigators have not disclosed a possible motive.
Jones was booked into the Anderson County Detention Center, where she remains held without bond. The court date has not yet been announced.
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