Two Roane County women are facing murder and drug charges after prosecutors say the fentanyl they supplied led to a Kingston man's fatal overdose in August 2025. A Roane County grand jury handed up a four-count indictment this month, and both women are now in custody as their cases move through circuit court. The prosecution is another example of how East Tennessee authorities are trying to trace deadly doses back to alleged sellers and use homicide statutes in fentanyl-related deaths.
According to WBIR, a Roane County grand jury returned the indictment on Feb. 9, 2026, naming 29-year-old Edna Webb and 47-year-old Manessa Herman. The document charges both women with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of selling drugs, and a separate count alleging they sold fentanyl that resulted in death tied to an overdose in August 2025. Prosecutors allege the fentanyl the defendants provided was the proximate cause of the victim's death, according to the report.
Roane County Chief Deputy Tim Phillips told 3B Media News the indictment centers on the death of a Roane County man who died Aug. 13, 2025. Webb remains jailed with a bond set at $150,000. The outlet also reports that Herman was first charged in the case in October 2025 and that trial dates are scheduled later this year. County officials did not immediately release additional details, and court filings are expected to spell out more of the allegations as the case moves forward.
How Tennessee Law Treats Overdose Deaths
Tennessee's second-degree murder statute explicitly covers killings that “result from the unlawful distribution” of controlled substances and specifically names fentanyl as a substance that can trigger a murder charge, making the offense a Class A felony under state law. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-210 lays out the statute prosecutors rely on in drug-induced death prosecutions. Prosecutors in East Tennessee have used the law in similar cases before, and Knox County prosecutors won a 2024 conviction after a man admitted delivering fentanyl that caused a woman's death, according to WVLT.
Context: Overdose Trends And Fentanyl's Role
Provisional federal data show overdose deaths declined in 2024 and into 2025, but fentanyl remains the leading driver of fatal opioid overdoses, and officials warn the drug's unpredictable potency keeps individual exposures highly lethal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released provisional counts and analysis showing a sharp drop in predicted overdose deaths, according to the CDC, while local reporting credits expanded naloxone access and surveillance for part of the decline, as noted by Axios Nashville. Public-health experts caution that fewer overall deaths do not remove the acute danger posed by illicit fentanyl in the drug supply.
What Happens Next
Webb was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, March 2, 2026, and court filings should clarify the evidence prosecutors intend to present, according to WBIR. Both defendants are presumed innocent, and the charges are allegations that must be proven in court. We will be watching filings in Roane County Circuit Court for updates on arraignments, bond hearings, and any upcoming trial dates.
