A San Angelo woman was arrested Thursday in connection with a fatal drug overdose of a 23-year-old woman in August 2024.
Krystianna Ratcliffe, 23, was taken into custody after nearly a year-long investigative effort, according to a news release from the San Angelo Police Department. She is charged with murder in the Aug. 1 death of Izabella Rodriguez.
Ratcliffe was booked into the Tom Green County jail and is being held on a $1 million bond, online jail records show.
On Aug. 1, 2024, at approximately 9:38 p.m., SAPD officers and medical personnel were dispatched to a residence in the 3200 block of Southland Boulevard for a report of an unconscious person. Upon arrival, officers discovered that Rodriguez was deceased at the scene.
A substance located on Rodriguez presumptively tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl. Rodriguez was transported for autopsy, and the medical examiner later listed the cause of death as “Acute Intoxication with Fentanyl.”
Through the course of an extensive investigation, evidence testing and information gathered, detectives were able to identify a suspect believed to have provided the illegal narcotics that resulted in Rodriguez’s death.
On Sept. 1, 2023, Texas House Bill 6 went into effect, supplementing the murder statute, that individuals who knowingly manufacture or deliver fentanyl resulting in death can be charged with murder.
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: San Angelo woman arrested, charged with murder in fentanyl overdose death
Reporting by Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times / San Angelo Standard-Times
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