MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 44-year-old Newport woman faces a murder charge in connection to her husband’s drug overdose death, according to the Washington County Attorney’s Office announced.
On Thursday, Jennifer Marie Johnson was charged with third-degree murder in her husband’s March 30, 2013 death.
According to the criminal complaint, on the day of the incident, Newport police were called to the couple’s home on an unresponsive man. The man was then taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul where he was then pronounced dead.
Johnson allegedly told police that she filled up a syringe and gave her husband 30 to 40 milligrams of her methadone – after he had consumed some beers.
“This is yet another example of the results caused by the recklessness of those in the drug culture,” County Attorney Pete Orput said. “In the last few years drug overdose deaths have become a scourge upon our local communities. We in law enforcement are doubling our efforts in these types of cases as a result.”
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as “mixed drug toxicity.”
If convicted, Johnson could face up to 25 years in prison.
