SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A grand jury has indicted an inmate and a former state employee in connection with a recent overdose death at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Friday.
Prosecutors allege Natalie Krause, 25, a former medical aide at the penitentiary, smuggled K2, a synthetic form of marijuana, into the prison and provided it to inmate Cole Waters. Authorities say Waters then gave the drug to fellow inmate Travis Long Fox, who later died of an overdose.
Long Fox was found unresponsive in his cell on Nov. 4 and died three days later, on Nov. 7, according to Jackley.
Waters is currently serving a 65-year sentence for first-degree manslaughter. If convicted on the new charges, he could face up to 170 additional years in prison. Under South Dakota law, his existing sentence could also be doubled.
Krause faces a possible maximum sentence of 75 years in prison. Prosecutors said that sentence could increase to as much as 95 years if she is convicted of an additional charge for possessing an unauthorized article with intent to deliver to an inmate. Krause is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 22, 2025.
Jackley said charges have now been filed in three of the eight suspected inmate overdose deaths investigated this year by the Division of Criminal Investigation. The deaths of five other inmates remain under investigation, and additional charges are expected in the coming months.
The case underscores ongoing concerns about drug smuggling and overdose deaths within South Dakota correctional facilities.
