Capture of Suspect in NMSP Officer’s Murder Caught on Body Camera

ST. LOUIS — A tragic overdose of opioids and fentanyl claimed the lives of the executive director of the Assisted Recovery Centers of America in St. Louis, as well as his sister and nephew.

Taking a deep breath, Aaron Laxton stated that Cody, whom he referred to as a genuine character, passed away first. His nephew’s overdose was regrettable and unsettling at a time when fentanyl was not yet widely recognized in the nation. The loss had a significant effect on Laxton’s father’s side of the family.

According to his uncle, Cody’s nephew developed an opiate addiction very rapidly. One day, while Laxton’s father and stepmother were out for a bingo game, Cody got into their bathroom medicine cabinet and swallowed something.

Upon returning from their game, the family discovered their amusing and witty 16-year-old son had overdosed on opioids inside their family home.

He remarked, “He was just really, really young.” “Our family discovered he had passed away prior to the respiratory drive being restored due to an overdose.”

Years later, Heather, Cody’s sister, was discovered unconscious from an opioid overdose outside of a gas station in St. Louis. She had taken a tablet from a drug dealer giving out free samples of a novel mixture on the streets.

Laxton claimed that although she was overdosing, she had not yet passed away when St. Louis police and paramedics arrived. She managed to be revived while being taken to a nearby hospital.

Laxton claimed that even though she had not previously visited that specific petrol station and had gone through stages of recovery and sobriety for six months, she had tried the drug.

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He stated, “It’s not unusual; we hear about it fairly frequently, and it’s available and free wherever people want it.” “All it took was for me to drop her off at the gas station, where she was given a sample, which she accepted.”

In a life-threatening state, she was brought to a nearby hospital right away and treated there. Unfortunately, the woman who had a passion for fashion, hair, makeup, and all things girlie was placed on life support since she did not react to treatment.

Eventually, Heather’s life support was turned off, and she passed away on her hospital bed in front of her family and parents, who made the difficult choice to let their daughter go peacefully.

Laxton stated he had just had a conversation with the mother of two. It was bewildering and heartbreaking for her to lose her own kid after losing Cody and then years later.

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He said, “Heather had seen what had happened to Cody.” “It’s disastrous for a household.”

Jared, the mother of Laxton’s mother, had just given birth to a girl when he unexpectedly passed away from fentanyl usage.

Fentanyl murdered the content 29-year-old skilled worker who had recently assisted in the birth of a 9-month-old. People who knew him flooded social media with condolences after learning of his overdose death.

The older relative stated, “I think that when we think about drug toxicity deaths or overdose deaths, they’re traumatic.” “Because the person vanished out of nowhere.”

According to him, this problem runs in certain families over generations. He claimed to be able to trace a line connecting drug addicts in his family from one generation to the one before.

“I followed in my parents’ footsteps,” he said. They followed in the footsteps of their parents, etc.

Laxton is one of eleven family members affected by fentanyl-opiate-related deaths in the St. Louis region; there are four on his mother’s side and seven on his father’s side. According to him, addiction runs in families and has a cascading impact.

It resembles a train wreck. There is a great deal of destruction and sorrow when the train rolls off the tracks, he continued.

Laxton went on to say that he was positive that there was a problem in the St. Louis area, especially for Black populations. Additionally, he stated that while the figures fluctuate between the county and city, his recovery center has experienced a decline in total enrollment.

He claimed that although fentanyl-related instances account for a disproportionate share of the cases, there has been a small improvement. He is cautiously optimistic.

The next installment of this series, 5 On Your Side, looks at the amount of overdoses and fatalities. We look at what the St. Louis County and Metropolitan Police Departments have observed on the streets and the parts of the city most affected by this problem.