A Plymouth woman has been charged with third-degree murder in the heroin death of another inmate while both were in the Hennepin County jail.
Hennepin County jail OD leads to third-degree murder charge
March 23, 2018 at 8:12PM
Cortney Ann Metcalfe, 31, was charged in the fatal overdose of Kristina Duren, of St. Paul, who was found unresponsive in her bunk about 5:40 a.m. Jan. 21. Metcalfe previously had been charged with felony drug possession in connection with Duren's death.
Duren, 40, and Metcalfe were in custody for unrelated drug-related arrests. Video surveillance showed Duren making several trips to the bathroom and twice "grabbing something" off a shelf near her bed. The two also headed to the bathroom area together shortly before 3 a.m. Jan. 21.
Later that morning, nurses at the jail discovered Duren unresponsive, the affidavit read. She was declared dead at HCMC about 6:30 a.m. The autopsy found she died of heroin toxicity.
One day after Duren died, Metcalfe was brought to HCMC for a body cavity search, according to the drug possession charge against her. "Officers noted that [Metcalfe] was restless as she sat on the bench" at the hospital, the complaint read. "Officers observed a plastic bindle on the ground underneath where [Metcalfe] was seated."
The item contained a small amount of heroin, and Metcalfe admitted that she had concealed it in a body cavity.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
