Court Of Appeals: Drug Dealer Can't Be Charged With Murder

The Indiana Court of Appeals says the facts and circumstances of the case don't add up to a murder charge.

James Trimnell (left) and Nathaniel Walmsley were each charged with murder after the July 2017 overdose death of Rachel Walmsley in Batesville. Photos by Ripley County Sheriff's Office.

(Ripley County, Ind.) – The Indiana Court of Appeals will not allow a drug dealer to be charged with murder for a Batesville woman’s fatal heroin overdose.

James Alvin Trimnell sold heroin to Nathaniel Walmsley in 2017. Walmsley later injected the drug into his wife, Rachel. She suffered a fatal drug overdose that same day. Nathaniel waited hours until seeking medical attention for her.

Rachel’s death led Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel to take the rare step of charging both Trimnell and Nathanial Walmsley with murder. Hertel acknowledged it was the first time a murder charge has been filed based on an overdose death in Indiana.

Ripley Circuit Court Judge Ryan King denied a defense motion to have the murder charges dismissed. It didn’t take long for both Trimnell, Walmsley and their attorneys to pursue an interlocutory appeal of King’s decision.

On December 31st, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in Trimnell’s case, finding that the trial court should have dismissed the murder charge because the law was misapplied to the facts and circumstances of the case.

“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 Senior Judge Carr L. Darden.

“Likewise, Trimnell could not have anticipated or reasonably foreseen that Nathaniel would not promptly seek medical attention when it became obvious that Rachel became unconscious, she was unresponsive and suffered difficulty breathing, but waited until hours later in an to attempt to obtain medical treatment for her. Furthermore, Trimnell could not have foreseen how much of the drug Nathaniel would inject in Rachel’s arm.”

No decision has been made yet in Nathaniel Walmsley’s case, which remains in the hands of the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Prosecutor Hertel says he is disappointed in the ruling, but respect’s the appellate court’s decision. His office will work with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office for advice and a possible appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court. It is unclear if more appropriate charges could be filed against Trimnell.

Indiana lawmakers have taken action to allow harsher punishment of drug dealers who sell illegal substances to addicts who later overdose and die. Last year, the state legislature passed and Governor Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1359, which creates a new level 1 felony crime called Drug Dealing Resulting in Death. A conviction on that new crime can bring a sentence of 20 up to 40 years.

RELATED STORIES:

Murder Cases Connected To Drug Overdose Death Likely To Drag On

Husband, Drug Dealer Face Murder Charge After Woman's Deadly Overdose