(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Two people have been charged with allegedly distributing fentanyl that led to the death of a 15-year-old girl.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, on June 7, 2025, officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) and medical personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive teen. The teen was determined to be deceased upon crews’ arrival. The Attorney’s Office said investigators on scene found nine blue pills with the markings “M” and “30” on them, wrapped in a receipt.
Court documents state that a search of the victim’s phone revealed she agreed to meet 57-year-old Eugene Edwards at an elementary school in Colorado Springs the night before her death to buy pills. Surveillance video and license plate reader footage confirmed Edwards’ car was at the school that night. About an hour later, additional footage captured outside the victim’s home showed her “smoking what appeared to be fentanyl.” She died shortly after, the documents state.
According to the Attorney’s Office, Edwards had multiple prior felony convictions for drug offenses, robbery, and burglary. He was arrested on June 13 after investigators found suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine in his car, including ten fentanyl pills wrapped in a receipt.
During an interview with law enforcement, Edwards said he obtained the fentanyl pills that he had that evening from a woman who was later identified as 30-year-old Destiny Benjamin. Court documents further allege that cell phone records and text messages between Edwards and Benjamin outline a relationship based on the exchange of money for drugs—including fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Edwards told investigators his only current source of supply for fentanyl pills was Benjamin. She was subsequently arrested, and law enforcement seized fentanyl, methamphetamine, and a loaded handgun from her at the time of her arrest. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Benjamin told investigators she provided illegal narcotics to Edwards.
Edwards and Benjamin made their initial appearance in Federal Court in Denver on Monday, July 28, where they were advised that they were being charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death. The charge carries a potential penalty of no less than 20 years and up to life in prison, a fine of no more than $1,000,000, and no less than three years of supervised release.
