Ripon woman charged with fentanyl-related death, overdoses at her home

FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (WBAY) - A Fond du Lac County woman has been charged in a fentanyl-related death and two overdoses at her home in Ripon.

Carla Endeward, 54, is charged with eight counts, including First Degree Reckless Homicide, Recklessly Endangering Safety, Maintaining a Drug Trafficking Place, and Possession of Narcotics.

The death happened March 5, 2020. Police were called to a hospital in Ripon to investigate a possible suspicious death. Carla Endeward had taken the victim to the emergency room. He was pulseless and not breathing. Medical professionals were unable to revive him.

Autopsy and toxicology reports from the Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner showed the cause of death was cocaine, fentanyl, flualprazolam (tranquilizer), and Isotonitazene (synthetic opioid) toxicity.

Police learned the victim had been at Endeward’s home on State Street in Ripon. Endeward stated that she had been sleeping on the couch when her dog woke her up. She said she got up and found the victim.

A neighbor told police that Endeward had come knocking on his door saying she needed help getting the victim into the vehicle to be taken to the hospital. The neighbor stated he helped Carla “kind of drag” the victim out to the vehicle and place him in the passenger seat.

Endeward said the time gap between when she found the victim unconscious to the time she went down to the neighbor was about an hour. She said she was trying to do CPR on the victim and contact someone to bring over Narcan.

Police asked why she didn’t call 911. She said she “just wanted to get him to the hospital.”

Carla stated she and the victim had traveled to a Suboxone clinic in Milwaukee on March 4, 2020. Carla talked about some “pink heroin” that she said was unlike anything else. The victim would later return to Milwaukee that day without Carla.

Searches of Endeward’s phone and the victim’s phone showed multiple calls between Carla Endeward and her dealer and Endeward and the victim. The criminal complaint states that Endeward was providing directions for the victim to get to “specific streets in Milwaukee.” Endeward later stated that she helped guide him to her drug dealer. The victim later returned to Endeward’s home in Ripon where he overdosed.

A witness told police that a week before the victim died, she was unable to get in contact with Endeward and the victim, and they were not answering phones. She went over to Endeward’s home but no one came to the door. The witness found an unlocked door and found Carla with her purse and keys in her hand as if she was going to leave. The witness found the victim on a coach “completely gone.” She said Carla wouldn’t let her call for help because there were still drugs in the home. She witnessed Carla slap the victim and throw water on him. The witness called a friend who had Narcan and they were able to revive the victim that time.

Endeward is also charged in the April 2020 overdoses of a second victim in Ripon.

On April 9, 2020, Police were called to Endeward’s home for a report of a man who was not conscious. On officers used Narcan to revive the victim. He refused transport to a hospital.

On April 17, 2020 police were called to Endeward’s home for a “male turning blue and possibly overdosing.” Police found the same victim there. Police had to give him two doses of Narcan to revive him.

On April 22, 2020 Carla’s probation and parole agent contacted police to state that “Victim 2″ had told her that Carla Endeward had provided drugs to him and he had smoked crack and injected heroin at her home. He admitted that Carla had given him some “pink” drugs and that he “has never seen anything pink before.” He said he had been using for a long time and “he has never seen anything like this before.” He stated that Carla’s cooked down the drugs and gave it to him. “Victim 2″ later agreed to write a statement.

Charges were filed on Sept. 19, 2022.

Endeward is behind bars at Taycheedah Correctional Institution. She’s expected to make a court appearance on these charges soon.

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