A Lafayette jury on Thursday found an Arnaudville man guilty of second-degree murder, convicting him of selling a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student the fentanyl-laced drugs that led to her accidental overdose and eventual death, our media partners at The Advocate report.
The Advocate covered the trial, which took place last week.
The newspaper reports that Damien Bernard, 27, was convicted of second-degree murder in the October 2021 death of JonTerez Broussard, a 20-year-old Acadiana woman who purchased what she believed to be cocaine during a night out downtown with friends. The substance was instead heroin and fentanyl, and Broussard died a week later after the drugs’ ingestion caused her to lose consciousness.
The conviction came after four days of evidence, including testimony from the three friends who were with Broussard the night of the overdose, police investigators and scientists who analyzed evidence in the case like samples of Broussard’s blood and the drugs found at the scene, The Advocate reports.
To read The Advocate's stories about the trial, click here.
Broussard's family has lobbied for tougher laws on fentanyl; to read our interview with her father about that, click here.
