Former 16 and Pregnant cast member Whitney Blake Purvis, 33, of Rome, pleaded guilty this week to multiple charges connected to the overdose death of a Rome man.
Purvis was originally arrested in July 2025 after investigators alleged she supplied a drug mixture containing fentanyl and xylazine, commonly known as “Tranq,” to John Mark Harris, 37. Authorities said Harris later died from an overdose at his East Rome residence, where he was discovered by his father.
Court records show that Purvis entered guilty pleas to involuntary manslaughter, sale of a controlled substance (fentanyl) and illegal use of a communication facility. By pleading guilty to three of the seven charges she faced, Purvis entered an Alford plea, a legal arrangement in which a defendant formally accepts a conviction while maintaining innocence regarding the underlying conduct…