This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
COVINGTON, LA — The Saint Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office says two men will face murder charges in connection with the overdose death of a woman in October 2017.
According to deputies, one of the suspects was the woman’s boyfriend and the other supplied the drugs.
Deputies say that on October 16, 2017, Shantell Jackson died at the hospital after suffering an apparent drug overdose.
The official cause of death required the completion of toxicity tests. Last week, according to deputies, the Saint Tammany Coroner’s Office contacted the department with its determination that Jackson died from heroin toxicity.
Deputies say Jackson’s boyfriend, Warren Brown of Pearl River, bought the heroin from Oren Bowens of Slidell. Arrest warrants were issued for both men on second-degree murder charges.
Brown was already in jail on a parole violation, according to the STPSO, and was rebooked with the new charge. Bowens was located last week and also taken in to custody and booked.
Deputies say they also located other drugs while searching Bowens’ home, so he was booked with additional drug charges.
“Although these cases are very difficult to make, our detectives have worked hard to bring the individuals responsible for Shantell Jackson’s death to justice,” Sheriff Randy Smith is quoted as saying in a news release announcing the arrests. “These arrests send a strong message that we will aggressively go after drug dealers who choose to do business and distribute these deadly drugs in our parish.”
