By Shereen Siewert
A second suspect charged in connection with the disappearance and overdose death of a 33-year-old Acams County man has reached a plea deal, according to court documents.
Isaac Salinas was reported missing Sept. 11, 2017. His body was discovered one week later beneath a pile of wood near a shed. Autopsy results showed he died of a drug overdose, officials said.
Charges were filed in October 2017 in Adams County Circuit Court against 56-year-old Debra Phillips of Friendship; 47-year-old Michael Mathewson of Adams; 52-year-old Jacquet Jenkins and 47-year-old Susan Hall, both of Oxford.
Phillips faces charges of first degree reckless homicide by delivery of drugs and hiding a corpse. She is being held in the Adams County Jail on a $30,000 cash bond but is due in court Tuesday for a plea hearing. Wausau Pilot and Review will update this story after the hearing concludes.
Jenkins also faces charges of first degree reckless homicide, along with charges of possession of narcotic drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, and second offense possession of marijuana. His bond is also $30,000 cash.
Mathewson faces charges of hiding a corpse and obstruction. A judge set bond for Mathewson at $50,000 cash.
The four were arrested in late September 2017.
Court documents allege Phillips purchased heroin from Jenkins and provided it to Mathewson, Hall and Salinas. Salinas reportedly became unresponsive, but Mathewson dismissed concerns about his Salinas’ well being, saying Salinas had “done that before.” Mathewson said he continued to check on Salinas, who later died.
Phillips and Mathewson allegedly removed the body from Hall’s bedroom, according to court documents. Police say the two intended to put Salinas’ body in a lake, but placed it near a shed on the property when the body became too heavy to move.
The pair allegedly covered the body with a large sheet of plywood before returning to the home to use more heroin.
Phillips is the second suspect to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors. In May, Hall agreed to a deferred sentencing in which she spent 25 days in jail on a charge of hiding a corpse. She was ordered to spend two years on probation, and her case will be reviewed in May 2020.
Jenkins and Mathewson are both scheduled to head to trial in the coming weeks.
