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Two people were arrested on murder charges Wednesday in connection with the October death of a 29-year-old man who overdosed in a Denton hotel room, police say.
Tabitha Balent, 38, and Raymond Hernandez, 37, were jailed in connection with the death of Corey Alan Culver.
Balent was booked into the Denton County jail Thursday on a murder charge, with bail set at $100,000. Hernandez, who also faces a murder charge, was booked into the City of Denton jail Wednesday, with bail set at $150,000. It was unclear if either had an attorney.
Authorities were dispatched about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 18 to a hotel in the 3700 block of southbound Interstate 35E for reports of an unconscious person.
Culver, who is from North Carolina, was pronounced dead at the hotel, according to police. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Culver died of cocaine and fentanyl toxicity.
The 911 caller, Balent, told police she found Culver dead in the hotel room bed when she woke up. When detectives searched the room, police said they found drug paraphernalia and two circular blue pills — believed to be counterfeit oxycodone M30 tablets containing fentanyl.
Detectives found text messages on Balent’s phone between Balent and Culver about Balent delivering “percs” to Culver on Oct. 17, according to police. Texts also revealed Balent purchased suspected narcotics from Hernandez, police said.
Balent and Hernandez were arrested without incident at their shared home in the 3400 block of Ganzer Road West, police said.
Balent, according to police, admitted to getting the pills that were given to Culver from Hernandez. Hernandez also admitted to supplying the pills, police said.
In addition to the murder warrant, the Denton County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Hernandez in a separate narcotics case and said they obtained three felony arrest warrants for manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance.
“The continued threat of fentanyl in our community is very real, and collectively, we must all come together to address the dangers that come with it,” Denton police Chief Doug Shoemaker said in a written statement. “We must all remain vigilant in rooting out the sources of this drug before even more lives are taken from us.”
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office announced Thursday that a 46-year-old man was indicted on a murder charge after police said he sold fentanyl-laced pills to a 26-year-old who died from synthetic opioid poisoning.
At least one person has already been found guilty of murder in a fentanyl-related death in Texas. The verdict, which resulted in a 45-year prison sentence for Jasinto Jimenez of Wichita Falls, was believed to be the first of its kind in the state.
House Bill 6, which became law in September, defined knowingly manufacturing or distributing fentanyl that results in death as murder. It also requires fentanyl-related fatalities to be classified on death certificates as fentanyl “toxicity” or “poisoning” rather than an overdose.