Overdose death trial underway

Jury selection began Monday morning in the trial of La Crosse County woman accused of participating in a drug transaction that led to the death of a 45-year-old Rhinelander man in January 2023.
Andrea J. Walker, 44, of Bangor is charged with first-degree reckless homicide/drug delivery (as party to the crime). The Oneida County district attorney’s office added the party to a crime (PTAC) modifier on July 21, according to court records.
According to state law, anyone involved in the commission of a crime can be held responsible, regardless of whether they directly committed the offense.
According to a criminal complaint filed on July 7, 2023, the man died days after traveling to western Wisconsin where, with Walker’s assistance, he acquired illegal drugs.
The state crime lab determined his cause of death was mixed drug toxicity/overdose (fentanyl and methamphetamine), the state alleges.
According to the criminal complaint, “a large pile of white crystalline substance” was located on a dresser and a bed in the room where (the man) was found, and other drug paraphernalia was located elsewhere in the residence. A family member who had been living with the deceased told police the man had been “acting weird” and “bumping into things” the night before his death. The family member also told police the man had recently traveled to western Wisconsin and was acting “very hyper” since he returned.
The complaint also details investigators’ application for and use of search warrants to obtain Facebook and phone records tying Walker to the deceased, including references to a meeting between the two in La Crosse County days before the man was found dead.
In pretrial hearings, Walker’s attorney has argued that a known third-party may have been the source of the drugs.
If convicted of the Class C felony, Walker faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The trial is scheduled to last five days.