Whitney Purvis, who became a household name on the very first season of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant, has pleaded guilty in the fentanyl death of her friend — and she is now facing up to 44 years in prison.
THE PLEA
Purvis, 34, entered an Alford plea in Floyd County, Georgia, pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, sale of fentanyl and illegal use of a communication facility. An Alford plea means she accepts the punishment without admitting to the facts, because she acknowledges the state has strong evidence against her. Her trial was set to begin this week. She also signed a waiver giving up her right to ever withdraw the plea.
WHAT PROSECUTORS SAY HAPPENED
Whitney Purvis booking photo — Floyd County Sheriff’s Office
According to court records, on February 16, 2025, Purvis sold a street drug known as “Tranq” — a mix of fentanyl and the animal tranquilizer xylazine — to her friend John Mark Harris, 37, of Rome, Georgia. Harris died of a toxic overdose the next day.
Prosecutors built the case on the pair’s text messages. Purvis allegedly pitched the drug and its effects, discussed pricing and delivery, explained how to use it, and sent a photo showing she had delivered it to his home. Records from her Cash App showed his payment.
44 YEARS ON THE TABLE
The three charges carry a combined maximum of 44 years in prison. The state has not yet recommended a sentence, and no sentencing date has been set. Until sentencing, Purvis must follow strict conditions: a curfew, no alcohol or drugs, and testing and searches on demand.
She was originally charged with seven felonies, including aggravated involuntary manslaughter under Georgia’s “Austin’s Law,” the 2024 law that lets the state prosecute dealers when the fentanyl they sell kills someone.
“She did this, and as a result, my son is dead,” Harris’s mother, Lisa Harris, said after the arrest. “The whole thing is so heartbreaking. I feel sorry for her — not because she got arrested, but because her life got to a point of dealing drugs.”
Purvis, who lost her own 16-year-old son, Weston Jr., in June 2025, has not made a public statement about the plea. She was one of the original faces of 16 and Pregnant in 2009 — one of only two girls from Season 1 who did not move on to Teen Mom.
Sources: Court TV; The Ashley’s Reality Roundup. Booking photo: Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.
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