‘Welcome To Plathville’: What Happened to Kim & Barry’s Son Who Died?

Nine years before the Plaths became a household name on TLC with their series Welcome to Plathville, the family dealt with an unthinkable tragedy when Joshua Plath was killed in a terrible accident.

Kim Plath and Barry Plath introduced their nine children on Welcome to Plathville and briefly spoke about the 2008 death of their son, who was born in April 2007. Joshua was just 17 months old when he died (Kim was pregnant with her eighth child at the time).

What happened to Joshua and how was Kim involved? Scroll down for everything we know.

What happened to Joshua Plath?

Joshua died on September 19, 2008. Kim was moving fruit trees with her car on the Plath family’s farm in rural Georgia and she “ran over” her son, who was not even 2 years old yet.

“I had just seen him, and I thought it was OK,” Kim said on an episode of Welcome to Plathville. “But I ran over him.” Joshua was pronounced dead at the scene after medical personnel tried to save him.

During a Season 2 episode, she added, “I probably am my biggest accuser, and that was a battle that I dealt [with] the first year that he died. I was pretty much just shut down.”

Joshua’s death was ruled accidental, according to Thomasville Times-Enterprise.

“The mother was pulling the vehicle forward — she had been doing yard work — and thought she had accounted for all the kids,” Investigator Daniel Singletary said. “She had seven children, ages 15 months to 10 years old, and they were all outside playing. She thought everyone was accounted for, moved the vehicle forward, and discovered she’d run over the youngest.”

Lydia Plath was 4 years old when the accident happened. She said the family “just didn’t talk about” losing Joshua because of how badly Kim was affected by the tragedy. “Because it affected her so much, we couldn’t talk about it,” Lydia said on The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast.

Moriah Plath, who was 6 when Joshua died, was “really close” by when the accident happened. “I watched it all happen, so sometimes I’ll still remember that like it was yesterday, like a flashback,” she said on a Welcome to Plathville episode. She also shared a similar sentiment as Lydia, adding, “After Joshua died, nobody would talk about it, like it was something that didn’t happen.”

Related

'Welcome to Plathville' Star Calls Duggar Documentary 'Triggering' to Watch

How did Olivia Plath’s brother die?

Olivia Plath joined the Plath family when she married Ethan Plath in 2018. The two separated in late 2023, but their divorce has not been finalized. Prior to her split from Ethan, Olivia dealt with a family tragedy of her own.

Olivia’s brother Micah Meggs died at just 15 years old in 2023. “I lost a younger brother last night to an unexpected accident and I need some clarity and space for grieving,” Olivia wrote on her Instagram Story at the time.

Micah, who had cerebral palsy, was hit by a car while riding his electric bike in Franklin County, Virginia, according to The Roanoke Times.

Welcome to Plathville, Season 7, Tuesdays, 10/9c, TLC