Teenager charged with second-degree murder in student overdose deaths in Fayette County
A teenager has been charged with murder after two teens died of a suspected overdose Tuesday in Fayette County.
Two teenage girls were found dead from a suspected drug overdose at a Fayette County high school late Tuesday afternoon, according to Fayette County Public Schools. A third teenage girl was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition, but was later upgraded to stable condition, according to the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
All three of the students, one 16 years old and the others age 17, attended Fayette-Ware High School and were completing their junior year at the high school, Fayette County Public Schools released in a statement on Wednesday.
Fayette County District Attorney Mark Davidson confirmed that the girl who has been charged was the third girl who was hospitalized following the incident. The teenager has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of possession of a controlled substance. All charges have been filed in juvenile court.
All three students were found in the parking lot of the high school, hours before the graduation ceremony was slated to begin in the school's gymnasium.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the circumstances around the students' deaths, along with the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.
While overdoses and overdose deaths have increased over the last decade in Fayette County, similar to every other Tennessee county and U.S. state, overdose fatalities are still not necessarily common in the county. With a population of around 43,000, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health, 19 people have overdosed and died in the county in 2021 — the latest year for which data is available.
The rise of overdose deaths in Fayette County, Tennessee, and the U.S. overall, is largely driven by the prevalence of synthetic opioids, like Fentanyl. While it is too early in the investigation to know for certain, Davidson said that this incident clearly appears to be related to a drug overdose and that there are signs pointing to fentanyl.
"We have not seen, to my knowledge, 16- to 17-year-olds dying from fentanyl in my district and this is an extremely alarming development," Davidson said. "What I've been saying to people is, if you buy any drug off the street, you think your buying meth, you think your buying cocaine, you think you're buying a pressed pill or ecstasy, or Xanax or whatever there's a real chance that it's got fentanyl in it. And it can kill you. So if your getting drugs that are not from a pharmacy, you are placing yourself at risk of serious harm or death."
Vigil planned
A balloon release in honor of the victims has been planned for 5 p.m. Thursday in the rear parking lot of Fayette-Ware Comprehensive High School.
"We encourage everyone to keep the friends and families of these young ladies and Fayette County Public Schools in your thoughts and prayers," the school district said in a written statement released Wednesday.
Davidson said they are trying to start a drug free coalition in Fayette County, similar to one that they already have in Tipton County, that focuses on educating youth on drugs as well as issues like vapes, cigarettes and underage alcohol.
"We've been watching the numbers [of overdoses], we've been sufficiently alarmed," Davidson said. "We've already been doing public service campaigns and, if you look at my Facebook, you'll see where I've been doing it for about a year. It's just very troubling and it's sad that despite those efforts, here we are today talking about this case."
Micaela Watts contributed to this report.
Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901/232-6714.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Teenager charged with murder in Tennessee student overdose deaths
