Missing traveler found dead in rolled-up rug in Louisiana had fentanyl in his system
A business traveler whose body was found in Louisiana this month died accidentally from the effects of fentanyl and other substances, according to a coroner's statement Tuesday.
The story of Nathan Millard, 42, drew national attention after it was learned he had traveled to Baton Rouge from Georgia to attend a Louisiana State University basketball game with a client but may have ended up on a drug spree with strangers, allegations revealed in an affidavit filed in court and by Texas EquuSearch, an organization that helps look for missing people.
The coroner's report says Millard's body showed no evidence of internal or external trauma. "Our toxicology test results show the presence of fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol in Mr. Millard’s system," it says.
That contributed to medical investigators' conclusion: that Millard died in an accidental manner based on the combined effects of those substances, according to the document.
Millard went to a pub after the game and was believed to have been headed back to his hotel room in Baton Rouge when he apparently disappeared, Texas EquuSearch said.
An affidavit for the arrest of one of three suspects police say are connected to the case, Tiffany Ann Guidry, 27, alleged that Millard met a man, later identified as Derrick Perkins, 45, and, eventually, two unnamed women. They ended up driving around Baton Rouge and using crack cocaine, the affidavit alleged.
Millard wanted to ditch the women in favor of two others, it said. With Perkins' help, two other women, identified as Guidry and Tabbetha Barner, 33, ended up at a residence with the men, where they partook of more crack cocaine, the document said.
Perkins went to retrieve more drugs, and when he returned Millard was dead, it said. At the urging of the women, he hastily moved to dispose of the body, which was found March 6 rolled up in a carpet along Baton Rouge's Scenic Highway near a funeral home, the document said.
Perkins told investigators he had panicked, it said.
On Friday, Guidry was the second of three suspects sought in the case to be arrested. Police allege the three suspects responded improperly to Millard's demise.
Guidry was booked on charges of unlawful disposal of human remains and failure to seek assistance in connection with the man’s death, police said.
Perkins was already in custody, charged with unlawful disposal of remains, obstruction of justice, simple criminal damage to property and failure to seek assistance.
Guidry is being held in lieu of $3.75 million bail. Perkins' bail was set at $1.4 million.
It was unclear whether Perkins and Guidry had legal representation. A spokesperson for the Baton Rouge public defender’s office had no comment.
Barner, 33, of Baton Rouge, is still wanted. She was accused of failure to seek assistance in the man’s death, police said.
The Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit group that seeks to roll back the nation's war on drugs, has encouraged states to enact "good Samaritan" laws that protect drug users when they report overdoses. The group did not respond to a request for comment.
Louisiana has a good Samaritan law, but anyone found to have administered a fatal dose is not protected from arrest and prosecution.
NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta reported that Millard was a construction executive who had five children: two stepsons, two teenage boys from a previous marriage and a 7-year-old daughter he shared with wife.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
