CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Two men arrested in connection with the overdose death of an 18-year-old girl in Clay County last month pleaded not guilty Wednesday to manslaughter charges.
Trumaine Muller, 32, was indicted May 15 for first-degree murder for selling a lethal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed Ariell Jade Brundige, who died of an overdose on Nov. 10. His arraignment is set for June 28.
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Detectives also arrested Tyler Hamilton, 26, and Christopher Williams, 32, for manslaughter in Brundige's death. They pleaded not guilty in Clay County court.
Deputies said Hamilton and Williams bought the drugs that killed Brundige, and Hamilton, who was Brundige’s boyfriend, was with her when she died.
Toxicology results showed Brundige had well over the lethal amount of fentanyl in her system. Fentanyl can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin.
Detectives said that the opioid epidemic has prompted them to approach all narcotics overdose cases as homicides, and that's how they investigated Brundige's death.
The Sheriff's Office said that although the drug that killed Brundige was heroin laced with fentanyl, selling any drug that kills someone could now be considered cause for a charge of first-degree murder for the dealer.