Investigators say Revelin Meador died from acute fentanyl intoxication and could not have obtained or administered the drug herself.
SCOTTSVILLE, KY — A 70-year-old Kentucky man has been arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2020 death of 7-year-old Revelin Meador, whose case was recently reopened and reclassified as a homicide, authorities said.
The Allen County-Scottsville Crime Task Force said Bobby Meador was arrested Oct. 8 in Warren County following a renewed investigation into the child’s death. Revelin died Aug. 1, 2020, at a residence on Celsor Road in Fountain Run. Authorities said the state medical examiner determined that she died from acute fentanyl intoxication. Investigators have not publicly explained how the fentanyl reached the child.
According to the task force, Revelin was medically fragile, required around-the-clock care and was unable to care for herself. Investigators said she was physically incapable of independently obtaining or administering fentanyl. The agency said its investigation led officials to conclude that first-degree manslaughter was the appropriate charge under Kentucky law. The charge is an allegation, and Bobby Meador has not been convicted in the case.
The investigation was reopened in September after detectives obtained and analyzed new information and evidence, authorities said. The task force later announced that Revelin’s death was being treated as a homicide. Officials have not released detailed findings about the newly obtained evidence or said specifically what prompted investigators to pursue a manslaughter charge more than six years after the child died.
Detective Robert Smith is leading the renewed investigation. Before the arrest was announced, investigators sought information from people who lived near, traveled along or visited Celsor Road around the time of Revelin’s death. Authorities said they were working to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the case and had begun speaking with people connected to the investigation.
Authorities and several current news reports have described Bobby Meador as Revelin’s grandfather. A 2020 obituary for Revelin, however, identified Bobby Meador as her adopted father. The obituary said Revelin was born Feb. 8, 2013, and died at her Fountain Run residence on Aug. 1, 2020. It also identified Farren Meador as her biological father.
The renewed investigation into Revelin’s death also produced information that led authorities to arrest Farren Meador in connection with separate sex-related allegations, according to the task force. Officials have stressed that those allegations involve separate investigations and are not charges accusing him of causing Revelin’s death. Authorities have said additional sex-related allegations could be presented for prosecution as those investigations continue.
The Allen County-Scottsville Crime Task Force is a recently formed local investigative unit led by Allen County Sheriff Brandon Ford and Scottsville Police Chief Danny Wilson. Officials said the group was created in part to bring additional resources and attention to serious criminal investigations, including older cases. The task force also credited the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the South Central Kentucky Drug Task Force and Allen County Coroner Darren Davis with assisting in the renewed investigation and arrest.
Bobby Meador was being held at the Warren County Regional Jail while awaiting transfer to Allen County, according to reports citing investigators. Authorities said the homicide investigation remains active. No publicly confirmed trial date or final resolution of the manslaughter case had been announced as of Friday.
Author note: Last updated October 9, 2026.