BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) — A 28-year-old woman from Baton Rouge has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose earlier this year in Prairieville.
Authorities with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office announced that Mackenzie Corkern was arrested on Wednesday, May 21, following a months-long investigation into the January death.
Deputies had responded to a suspected overdose on River Landing Drive in Prairieville, where they found a female victim who had already died. The substance she consumed was later confirmed to be fentanyl, a powerful and often deadly synthetic opioid.
Following an investigation by the Violent Crimes Unit, detectives identified Corkern as the person who supplied the fatal dose of illegal opioids. With assistance from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division, authorities executed an arrest warrant and took Corkern into custody in Baton Rouge.
She was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail and charged with second-degree murder. The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to combat opioid-related deaths in Louisiana.
