Central Wisconsin Man Pleads Not Guilty to Fatal Drug Overdose

Friday, May 3rd, 2024 -- 3:00 PM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) A Central Wisconsin man accused of providing the drugs that led to a fatal overdose in 2020 has pled not guilty to homicide and manufacturing or delivering designer drugs.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Otha Franklin entered the plea on Thursday in Marathon County court. Investigators say he and the victim were snorting pills together during a party in July 2020 when the victim started having a seizure.

A third person at the party offered to call for help, but Franklin is said to have shut that idea down, saying it was likely due to the combination of heroin and ecstasy in the pills.

He left the party the next morning, and another person found the victim unresponsive but breathing. They called for help, but the victim didn’t survive. Autopsy results showed that they died from a toxic mix of drugs.

Franklin faces up to 65 years in prison on the homicide and drug-related counts. He also faces a handful of counts for felony bail jumping. Multiple other cases related to charges for obstructing an officer, possession of a stolen firearm, burglary, and drug-related offenses are also proceeding alongside the homicide case.

The 45-year-old is being held on a $100,000 cash bond and will return to court on June 6th for a pretrial conference.

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