Kami Ludwig: Texas woman charged with boyfriend's murder after he ingests fatal dose of fentanyl-laced pills supplied by her
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS: The 35-year-old girlfriend of a former judge has been detained by Texas authorities for allegedly giving him fentanyl, which caused him to overdose and die late last year.
On Monday, February 12, Kami Ludwig was arrested and accused of killing William Shane Nolen, a 47-year-old Associate Tarrant County Judge.
The new law, which Governor Greg Abbott signed into law in June 2023 and which went into effect on September 1, 2023, classified the supply of fentanyl that causes death as murder.
Kami Ludwig faces murder charges William Shane Nolen's fentanyl death
The murder charge stems from this new interpretation of the law. Although the law was passed to address the thousands of Texans who suffer from fentanyl poisoning every year, it seemed to primarily target drug dealers who supply the lethal drug.
A press release from the Grapevine Police Department states that on November 20, 2023, at approximately 4.45 am, officers responded to a report about a deceased male at a house in the 4100 block of Mapleridge Drive who was later identified as Nolen.
Ludwig was Nolen's girlfriend when she made the first 911 call and gave the dispatcher her name. First responders reported that they discovered Nolen dead in his bedroom “with signs consistent with an opioid overdose” when they arrived at the scene.
According to the responding authorities, "several" more pills were found inside the house.
The Mid-Cities Drug Task Force and police detectives worked together to investigate the case. Evidence that Ludwig had "purchased the fentanyl-laced pills and supplied them to Nolen" was reportedly obtained, according to the investigators.
On February 9, 2024, Ludwig was given a murder arrest warrant based on information gathered during the course of the investigation. On February 12, she turned herself in to Tarrant County authorities.
William Shane Nolen overdosed on fentanyl and antidepressants
Ludwig appeared "extremely emotional as well as erratic in her behavior" when police and medical personnel arrived at Nolen's residence, according to a probable cause affidavit that Law&Crime was able to obtain.
When Nolen was discovered dead, his nine-year-old son was inside the house. Nolen had "bluish-purple" skin and white foam around his mouth and nose.
On the stairs leading up to the bedroom, an officer responding to the scene reported finding one "M-30" pill that was "known to be laced with fentanyl" and several Xanax pills that were "strewn about on the floor adjacent to the bed Nolen was found in."
The house also contained cocaine and additional M-30 pills, according to the police. That evening, Ludwig was first taken into custody and accused of possessing several controlled substances that had allegedly been found inside her purse.
According to reports, a forensic examination of Ludwig's phone showed that she had taken the pills from people known only as "Blue" and "T."
Additionally, it was reported that she had received a package from Louisiana that included an Apple iPhone box that was allegedly filled with Xanax. After Nolen's autopsy, it was discovered that he had overdosed on fentanyl and the antidepressant trazodone.
The drug dealer who is believed to have given Ludwig the fentanyl is still being sought after by the authorities. This week, Ludwig was freed from prison after he paid his bond.
