MTV’s ’16 and Pregnant’ Star Autumn Crittendon Cause of Death Revealed

The cause of death for Autumn Crittendon, who starred on Season 5 of MTV’s reality show 16 and Pregnant, has been revealed three months after she died at the age of 27.

Crittendon’s manner of death was accidental toxicity from fentanyl and para/meta-fluorofentanyl toxicity, a synthetic opioid similar to fentanyl, a spokesperson for Virginia Department of Health’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told Entertainment Weekly.

The 16 and Pregnant star, who was also known as Autumn Oxley, was found unresponsive on July 20 in her bedroom at a home she shared with her child, mother, and stepfather in Sandston, Virginia, where first responders were called to address a medical emergency.

“Once on scene, officers and fire personnel located an adult female unresponsive within the residence,” the Henrico County Police Department told Entertainment Weekly at the time.

“Members from Henrico Fire attempted life-saving measures however they were not effective,” the police department added. “The adult female, Autumn Oxley, 27, of Henrico, was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Crittendon is best known for appearing on 16 & Pregnant in 2014, when she gave birth to her eldest child Drake. She had a total of three children.

Crittendon’s death came just five months after another 16 and Pregnant alum, Sean Garinger — a young father featured on the show in 2020 and 2021 — died “in a freak ATV accident” at his home in North Carolina at the age of 20, according to a report by Deadline.

Notably, fentanyl — produced in China and then trafficked into the U.S. through the nation’s porous southern border — results in around 70,000 deaths per year. The drug is oftentimes laced with other substances, which are then ingested by unknowing victims.

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) told comedian and podcast host Theo Von that the U.S. needs to “have a military response at the southern border” to fight the drug cartels that are killing tens of thousands of people each year by trafficking fentanyl into the country.

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.