Webb City woman charged in fentanyl overdose death

(From the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

A Webb City woman has been formally charged in the Fentanyl overdose death of a 27-year-old Columbus man.

Patrick Stephens was found dead at a home in Columbus on the morning of July 2, 2024, and an autopsy determined he died from Fentanyl Intoxication. Since that time, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and Columbus Police Department have been investigating the events leading up to Stephens' death.

 

As a result of that investigation, evidence has been obtained which led Sheriff's Detectives to seek the filing of criminal charges on 22-year-old Mikaela Marie Sellars.

The Office of Cherokee County Attorney Kurt Benecke filed felony charges of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death and Distribution of Controlled Substances Using a Communication Device Thursday in Cherokee County District Court.







Sellars is alleged to have arranged to meet Stephens on July 1, 2024, at a rural Cherokee County convenience store and sold him Fentanyl, which ultimately resulted in his death the following morning.

Sellars, who has been in the custody of the Cherokee County Jail since August 29, 2024 on unrelated allegations of Aggravated Child Endangerment, Abuse of a Child, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and violating terms of her probation, was served the new formal complaint Thursday afternoon.