Maplewood Man Charged with Murder in Rochester Overdose
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Maplewood man has been charged with third-degree murder in connection to a fatal drug overdose that occurred in Rochester last year.
Olmsted County prosecutors filed the charge against 44-year-old Sean Alexander Friday. The criminal complaint accuses him of selling the female victim heroin on the night of June 5, 2021 at the Oak Terrace Mobile Home Park in southeast Rochester.
Investigators learned through interviews and social media messages that the victim met with Alexander that night and that she used heroin multiple times in the early morning hours of June 6. A friend of the victim said she received a Snapchat video call from the victim where she was seen using the drug on camera and appeared to be nodding in and out of consciousness, the complaint states.
An informant said Alexander brought the victim to St. Mary’s Hospital after seeing her show signs of overdosing. The informant said they received a text from Alexander on the morning of June 6 that said in part, “she can die. I’m not going to prison because she was stupid.” Alexander believed the woman was dead before he arrived at the hospital, according to the complaint.
Surveillance footage shows Alexander arriving at the St. Mary’s Emergency Room with the victim unresponsive in his back seat around 8 a.m. on June 6. Alexander did not appear to show urgency and never tended to the victim as hospital staff declared a code blue, the complaint states.
A woman identified as a friend of the victim said Alexander told her that the victim’s death was an accident and that he wished he would’ve brought her in for medical attention sooner. An autopsy revealed the woman died from a toxic mixture of meth and fentanyl, the complaint says.
If you or someone you know if struggling with drug and/or alcohol dependence, help is available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-622-HELP (1-800-622-4357) or send a text message to 1-800-487-4889.
Court records indicate Alexander was booked into the Minnesota State Correction Facility in Faribault in October 2021 for three drug convictions in Olmsted County unrelated to the alleged fatal overdose. He’s been summoned to make his first appearance related to the overdose case in Olmsted County Court on November 16.