Accused Drug Dealer's Murder Charge Formally Dismissed; Released From Jail

James Trimnell's case has been formally dismissed following an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that he could not be charged with murder.

The case against James A. Trimnell (left) has been dismissed. Nathaniel Walmsley's case for the 2017 overdose death of his wife is still on appeal. File photo.

(Ripley County, Ind.) - A murder charge has officially been dismissed against a drug dealer who sold a deadly batch of heroin.

James Trimnell dealt the heroin to Nathaniel Walmsley in Batesville in July of 2017. Walmsley injected the drug into his wife, Rachel, who then died of an overdose during a family barbecue.

Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel took the unprecedented step of charging Trimnell and Walmsley with murder for the fatal overdose. More commonly, drug dealers in Indiana have faced the less-serious charge of Reckless Homicide in the event of an overdose resulting from drugs they sell.

In January, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court abused discretion by misapplying the law to the facts. After the appellate court’s opinion was certified on February 15, the murder charge against Trimnell was formally dismissed on March 1, Hertel says.

“Trimnell could not have anticipated or reasonably foreseen that Rachel would become acutely intoxicated with alcohol prior to or during the time that Nathaniel injected the drug in Rachel’s arm,” wrote Indiana Court of Appeals Senior Judge Carr L. Darden.

The prosecutor expressed disappointment with the murder charge dismissal, which is compounded by Trimnell’s release from jail. His case has been completely dismissed.

Walmsley, the victim’s husband, is also appealing his murder charge to the court of appeals, but no decision has been made yet.

“Hertel has not ruled out the possibility of additional charges against Trimnell following the decision by the Court of Appeals, but stated he believes the prudent position tactically is to wait for the Walmsley decision.  He is unsure when that will happen,” according to a news release from the prosecutor’s office.

Walmsley remains held in the Ripley County Jail.

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