A Fort McCoy woman has been indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of a 23-year-old man who overdosed on fentanyl.
On Thursday, January 25, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes detective arrested 51-year-old Jodie Ann Overholser following the indictment. She is being accused of unlawfully distributing fentanyl and causing the death of Austin Roberson.
On May 18, 2023, the sheriff’s office received a call for service in reference to a deceased man, who was identified as Roberson. A detective responded to investigate the victim’s death, and evidence collected at the scene suggested that the victim died from a drug overdose, according to MCSO.
Investigators located several items of drug paraphernalia in the victim’s vehicle, along with a small amount of a white crystal-like substance and a blue powdery substance. MCSO stated that both substances were collected as evidence for testing.
The following day, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim had died as a result of a “combined drug toxicity,” according to the sheriff’s office.
During the investigation, the MCSO detective and an agent with the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team obtained records of instant messages that had been sent between the victim and Overholser. The sheriff’s office stated that those messages discussed the “sale of drugs” on May 17, 2023.
In addition, the detective and agent located a payment to Overholser’s Cashapp account for the amount that she had discussed with the victim, according to MCSO.
A month later, on June 20, 2023, a search warrant was executed at Overholser’s apartment. She was placed under arrest for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
After Overholser’s arrest, the detective continued to investigate the victim’s death, and the drugs that were found in the victim’s vehicle were submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing. The laboratory analysis ultimately revealed that the white crystal-like substance was methamphetamine, and the blue powdery substance was fentanyl.
The facts surrounding the victim’s death were presented to a grand jury, which later returned the indictment for Overholser. On January 25, she was located at her home in the 11700 block of NE 222nd Lane in Fort McCoy. She was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where she is currently being held without bond.
Overholser is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 27, according to jail records.