1. Fentanyl overdose murder charge
2. Suspected fentanyl dealer arrested for fatal overdose.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
Javontay Kinder and Tyler Twiehaus were involved in a tragic incident that resulted in Twiehaus losing his life due to a drug overdose. According to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators, the two men had arranged to meet for a drug transaction in late June last year. Following the meeting, Kinder provided Twiehaus with his new contact information. Tragically, Twiehaus never got the chance to use it as he succumbed to an overdose from drugs purchased from Kinder, leading to Kinder’s arrest on murder and other charges this month.
The 24-year-old Deerfield Beach man was taken into custody by deputies on Tuesday, May 7, on charges including first-degree murder by drug distribution, trafficking in fentanyl, and the sale of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid known to be 50 times more potent than heroin.
During a court hearing at the Palm Beach County Jail, Circuit Judge Donald Hafele ordered that Kinder be held without bail on the murder charge. Kinder is scheduled to appear in court again in June, with an attorney representing him declining to comment as mentioned in court records.
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Cellphone Records Link Kinder to Fatal Fentanyl Overdose
Twiehaus was found unresponsive on the morning of July 1, 2023, at an Extended Stay America motel in Lake Worth Beach. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue medics pronounced him dead in his room, with an autopsy revealing the presence of fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, flurorofentanyl, and protonitazene in his system.
An online obituary listed Twiehaus’ age as 34, with court records indicating his previous residences in central Palm Beach County, including Lake Worth Beach and Greenacres.
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A review of Twiehaus’ cellphone revealed communication with a contact named “TJ,” later identified as Kinder. Further investigation uncovered CashApp transactions between the two, surveillance videos showing their interactions at a gas station and motel parking lot, and attempts by Kinder to contact Twiehaus post his demise.
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Prosecuting Drug Dealers for Murder in Overdose Deaths
Kinder’s arrest is part of local authorities’ efforts to hold drug dealers accountable for fentanyl-related deaths. In 2017, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill expanding the state’s homicide statute to allow prosecutors to charge dealers with murder in cases involving fentanyl overdoses. This law gives prosecutors the power to pursue murder charges against dealers whose customers fatally overdose on the drug.
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Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg vowed in 2018 to aggressively use this law to charge drug dealers distributing deadly fentanyl-laced heroin. Recently, federal authorities arrested a couple from the Lantana area for selling fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 10-month-old child in 2022.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him atjwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at@JuliusWhigham. Help support our work:Subscribe today.
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– fatal fentanyl overdose
– suspected dealer murder charge.
