Youngstown man indicted in overdose of W .Va. woman

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. (AP) — A Youngstown man has been indicted for first-degree murder for the overdose death of a Newell woman in 2011.

The Hancock County grand jury, meeting this week in Hancock County Circuit Court, returned an indictment of first-degree murder and delivery of a controlled substance against Jarell A. Washington, 23, of Youngstown.

The indictment states Washington caused the death of Kristen Renfro, of Newell, by supplying her with heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance, on March 7, 2011.

Hancock County Prosecutor Jim Davis said Renfro died a day later of a heroin overdose.

"I think [Washington] was a person that she was familiar with as a supplier," Davis said. "In our state, if you commit certain crimes, such as delivery of a controlled substance, and a person dies as a result, that's felony murder."

Washington already is serving one and a half years at Belmont Correctional Institution in St. Clairsville, Ohio, for drug trafficking and possession of drugs-cases originating out of Columbiana County, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.