MANKATO — The roommate of a fentanyl overdose victim was sentenced to about 10 months in jail Monday for her role in the 2022 death in Mankato.
Haley Marie Ross, 25, of Mankato, was convicted on a felony third-degree aiding and abetting murder charge in Blue Earth County District Court. She was sentenced to 300 days in jail with credit for five days already served.
Ross was the last of three people to be convicted in connection to 21-year-old Eva LeTourneau’s fatal overdose on Dec. 1, 2022.
In victim impact statements at Ross’ sentencing hearing Monday, LeTourneau’s family spoke about the daily pain they feel since losing Eva.
Eva’s mother, Nicole LeTourneau, said the last 26 months without her have been pure hell on the family.
“She had so much more to offer to this world,” she said.
The 21-year-old could fill up a room with her laugh and was a talented makeup artist who dreamed of starting her own business someday, she said.
The mother, plus Eva’s younger sister and Eva’s stepmother, described Ross lying about what happened starting right after the tragedy and then failing to take accountability in the years since. They suggested Ross should receive a stiff sentence including incarceration.
A criminal complaint filed against Ross detailed her role obtaining pills containing fentanyl on Nov. 30 or Dec. 1, 2022. She ingested the bought drugs, along with Eva and Eva’s former boyfriend, Conner Lee Hoeft.
Ross expressed condolences to Eva’s family before hearing her sentence.
“I’m so sorry for the loss you experienced and the pain it caused,” she said.
Her mother and aunt spoke in her favor, saying they’ve seen much progress in her recovery journey. More than two dozen people sent letters of support for Ross to the court as well.
Jail would set her back eons, said Mandy Kennedy, Ross’ mother.
Ross said she carries Eva’s memory with her every day, and she’s committed to turning her life around in sobriety by building on her work in Narcotics Anonymous and with a recovery organization. She described herself being one-year sober.
Conditional release violations, including a disputed failed drug test in December, came up during Monday’s hearing. Ira Whitlock, Ross’ defense attorney, called the December violation “illegitimate.”
Court records, along with comments on the record at Monday’s hearing, indicate Ross claimed ingestion of poppy seeds caused her to fail the drug test.
Whitlock compared Ross’ case to co-defendant Hoeft, who received probation and a stayed prison sentence for an aiding and abetting murder conviction. It should be noted Ross alerted first responders to Eva and Hoeft’s overdoses, the attorney said, making her a Good Samaritan.
She may not have been candid with police when she spoke to them afterward, he said, but she had just experienced a traumatic situation finding her friend unconscious. And her lapses in recovery were not uncommon for people dealing with addiction, he added.
Whitlock sought no additional jail time for Ross, saying she’s not a danger to the community and would do important work speaking to groups about the dangers of fentanyl.
Another co-defendant, Kueth Pamier Ruae, received a stayed prison sentence and credit for 218 days in jail for a drug sales conviction. He was acquitted on an aiding and abetting murder charge after a judge determined his drug sale that evening wasn’t proven to be a “proximate” cause of the death.
A second drug sale leading up to the death complicated the investigation into which one was linked to the fatal overdose. Khalil Bryant sold drugs later provided to Eva, after Ruae’s earlier sale. Bryant was never charged in the case due to his February 2023 death in a homicide in Hennepin County.
A pre-sentence investigation recommended jail time for Ross. Prosecutor Todd Coryell agreed, arguing Ross’ actions justified incarceration.
Ross wouldn’t learn anything from the experience without jail time, Coryell said, given her violations on conditional release, her Alford plea indicating she still maintained innocence in the matter, and what he termed as her flaunting the crime to the victim’s family.
Judge Andrea Lieser called Eva’s death a “horrific and horrible tragedy.” She implored Ross to take sobriety seriously.
Lieser expressed concern at a recorded jail phone call involving Ross, which was highlighted in her pre-sentence investigation. The call reportedly demonstrated Ross remained in contact with active drug users.
Whitlock earlier attempted to strike this phone call from the record, which Lieser denied by saying Ross had notice that the call was being recorded.
Lieser drew a distinction between Hoeft’s and Ross’ cases. Hoeft pleaded guilty without any agreement in place at his first opportunity to do so, she said, while Ross didn’t.
Sentencing Ross to the 300 days in jail, Lieser cited “conflicting evidence” on how Ross views her role in the equation and how she’s approaching sobriety. Ross will remain on probation for seven years, while having an 86-month prison sentence stayed during probation.
She was immediately taken into custody to serve her sentence.