Brunswick Pleads Guilty in Overdose Death of 20-Month-Old

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that Karl Brunswick has pleaded guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child in the overdose death of a 20-month-old child. Per the terms of his plea, the Honorable Jonathan Sacks sentenced Brunswick to 20 years in Florida State Prison.

On March 28, 2024, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a San Juan Avenue residence about an unresponsive toddler. The child was transported to Wolfson’s Children Hospital but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Brunswick and another person were in a car doing drugs and fell asleep. Brunswick said he had the toddler on his chest and fell asleep and that when he woke, it appeared the child had suffocated. Police found baggies of marijuana and white powdery substances under his seat — a preliminary drug test showed Brunswick test positive for cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana. An autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office showed the toddler had cocaine, fentanyl, and dimethylpentylone in his system. The Medical Examiner ruled the child’s death an overdose and Brunswick was arrested.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi.