Couple Arrested After Warrants Issued in Fatal Overdose Case

FOLEY (WJON News) -- Two people charged in a fatal drug overdose case were arrested Thursday after a Benton County judge issued arrest warrants for the couple.

THE SUSPECTS

Thirty-eight-year-old Crystal Swenson and 33-year-old Fox Bellanger are accused of selling cocaine laced with fentanyl to Swenson's 16-year-old son.

A third suspect in the case, 48-year-old Anthony Costello, has pleaded guilty to one count of 2nd-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Swenson and Bellanger were scheduled to appear in court on May 29th, but both failed to appear. Swenson pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in April and failed to appear for her sentencing. Bellanger was set for a pre-trial hearing.

THE INVESTIGATION

Sauk Rapids Police were dispatched to the 300 block of 10th Avenue North on March 2nd, 2024, on a report of an unresponsive person. Officers discovered the teenage boy lying on the floor outside a bathroom and not breathing.

Officers tried life-saving efforts, but say the boy was cold to the touch and appeared to have been dead for some time.

Costello told police that he had previously been in a romantic relationship with the boy's mother, and he and the boy had snorted cocaine prior to his death.

The charges further allege the boy had made plans with his mother and Bellanger to buy cocaine from them.

Costello said when the boy returned to Costello's Sauk Rapids home at around 5:30 a.m., the two snorted cocaine together.

Records show Costello found the boy at around 9:30 a.m., making gurgling noises while on the floor, and he was unresponsive. Costello said, despite pouring water on him and trying to get him to stand up, the victim wouldn't wake up, so he dragged him down the stairs and left the boy there so he could go to bed.

A medical examiner determined the teen died of fentanyl toxicity and cocaine use.

Search warrants were used to access phone records among the group, and authorities say they tied Swenson and Bellanger to the drug buy.

WHAT'S NEXT

Swenson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27th.  Bellanger has a settlement conference scheduled for July 23rd.