CLEVELAND, Ga. — A person is facing felony murder charges in north Georgia after the overdose of a 23-year-old, the second such prosecution of an associate in an overdose death in the area in recent months.
According to the Cleveland Police Department in White County, 23-year-old Katelyn Baker was found dead in a room at the M Star Hotel by cleaning staff in mid-August.
About two weeks later, police arrested 27-year-old Olaffia Hester on the felony murder charge. Police did not provide any details on Hester's alleged role in the overdose.
The police department also did not detail what Baker overdosed on.
In July, a 34-year-old man was also arrested in neighboring Lumpkin County and charged with felony murder in the fentanyl overdose death of an unnamed victim.
Typically, charges for associates in overdose deaths are more rare in Georgia. In 2019 an alleged drug dealer was charged for selling heroin to a person who later died, in a case that a DeKalb County judge expressed "discomfort and reservations" about.
In that instance, police said it was the first time in DeKalb County a drug dealer was charged with felony murder for selling drugs someone later overdosed on.
