Woman charged in Waukesha man's heroin overdose death
Waukesha - A 24-year-old Madison woman has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide in connection with the heroin overdose death last year of a Waukesha man.
Natasha A. Hedstrom is accused in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday of supplying the heroin that killed Shawn R. Ropel, 30.
Hedstrom also is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors.
According to the complaint, officers were sent to a residence in the 2700 block of Summit Ave. in Waukesha on Nov. 29, where Hedstrom told them Ropel was in a bedroom unconscious and not breathing.
Ropel died on Dec. 2 at Waukesha Memorial Hospital and the county medical examiner's office determined the cause of death was acute heroin intoxication, the complaint says.
Hedstrom told Waukesha police she met Ropel through a friend for the first time on Nov. 26 because Ropel was looking for a source for drugs including heroin, the complaint states.
Hedstrom drove Ropel to Milwaukee on Nov. 26 and again on Nov. 28, he gave her money and she purchased heroin for him, according to the complaint.
On the night of Nov. 28, they both used heroin in Milwaukee and returned to Ropel's residence on Summit Ave., where Ropel later passed out, the complaint states. Hedstrom told police she tried to revive him by performing CPR and then called 911 about 2:34 a.m. Nov. 29 when her attempts failed, the complaint says.
