By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A 45-year-old Wausau man is being held on a $100,000 cash bond, accused of providing a lethal dose of heroin to a woman who overdosed and died in September in Wausau.
Jermal Hill faces charges filed Nov. 30 in Marathon County Circuit Court of first degree reckless homicide by delivery of drugs and manufacturing or delivering heroin. He faces up to 52 1/2 years in the Wisconsin Prison System if he is convicted on both charges.
Court filings show the charges are connected with the Sept. 11 overdose death of a 53-year-old Wausau woman whose body was discovered at a residence in the 700 block of Jefferson Street.
In September, Wausau Police Capt. Ben Graham said witness reports and evidence at the scene indicated that drugs may have contributed to the woman’s death. Autopsy results, which showed a combination of codeine, morphine, 6-Monoacetyl morphine, diphenhydramine and citalopram in the woman’s system, confirmed those suspicions, according to court documents. Morphine and 6-Monoacetyl morphine are known by-products of heroin, and diphenhydramine is often used as a heroin cutting agent, police said.
A packet of heroin was also found tucked inside the deceased woman’s bra, according to the police report. The name of the woman who died has not been publicly released; court documents refer to her only by the initials K.R.F.
Police interviewed HIll shortly after the woman’s death based on witness information. Initially, Hill claimed he purchase heroin from the woman and was not a dealer, but investigators determined that was not the case.
Hill appeared Nov. 30 for an initial appearance and is due in court Dec. 19 for a review hearing.
