Bond denied again for man arrested after 10-year-old niece died from fentanyl

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Bond was denied for a man charged in connection to the death of a Greenville County girl who was reportedly found to have drugs in her system.

On Jan. 12, officials said 10-year-old Ivy Rayne Stowe was found in cardiac arrest at a home on Paris View Drive. She passed away at Greenville Memorial Hospital after being transported by EMS.

After an autopsy and toxicology testing, the coroner determined Stowe died from the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and xylazine. Xylazine, also known as “tranq” or the “zombie drug,” is a horse tranquilizer that is not approved for use in humans.

Stowe’s uncle, 37-year-old Zachary Taylor McClure, was arrested in connection on March 28.

McClure who is charged with homicide by child abuse and was denied bond in a previous hearing on March 29 appeared in court on again April 19 where he was denied bond for a second time.

In court, McClure’s wife said Stowe had been sick for several weeks leading up to her death. They day before she died, she went to karate. The next morning, she was found unresponsive by McClure’s wife.

McClure’s wife mentioned that her husband checked himself into rehab the day after Stowe’s funeral.

The Food and Drug Administration said xylazine is approved for use in animals as a sedative and pain reliever, but warned healthcare professionals in 2022 that it is being detected in more drug overdose cases. Experts said it’s used as an additive because it’s cheaper than fentanyl.

“Naloxone may not be able to reverse its effects,” the FDA reported.

In addition to slowing breathing, xylazine can also cause skin to rot at injection sites which is how it has come to be called the “zombie drug.”

READ MORE: DEA warns of flesh-rotting ‘zombie drug’ mixed with fentanyl