Charity Faith Wiley, a Reseda woman, pleaded guilty Monday in Ventura County to second-degree murder after prosecutors said she sold a lethal mix of fentanyl and xylazine to a Simi Valley man who overdosed last year. The plea, announced by the district attorney's office, is a rare overdose-related murder conviction and caps a multiyear investigation into deadly synthetic drugs.
Plea, admissions and additional charges
In a Facebook post, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office said Wiley admitted several special allegations, including that the crime showed "planning, sophistication, or professionalism." She also pleaded guilty to five additional felonies tied to drug possession and sales, gun possession and alleged money laundering. Prosecutors said the plea deals with key counts while leaving the ultimate sentence up to the court.
"This guilty plea sends a clear message that fentanyl dealers will be held accountable," District Attorney Erik Nasarenko wrote, with his office describing the case as Ventura County's first murder conviction stemming from a fentanyl overdose. The office said prosecutors expect the resolution to offer some measure of closure for the victim's family.
How investigators tied the sale to the death
According to local reporting from KEYT, deputies and medics responded to an apparent overdose on June 6, 2024, in unincorporated Simi Valley, and toxicology later showed lethal levels of fentanyl and xylazine. KEYT reported that investigators with the Ventura County Fentanyl and Overdose Crimes Unit identified Wiley as the alleged source of the drugs and arrested her in March 2025.
The case first drew wider attention when Hoodline first reported the charges last year.
Why the xylazine-fentanyl mix is especially risky
Xylazine is a veterinary sedative that is increasingly being found mixed into illicit fentanyl in some parts of the United States. It depresses the central nervous system but is not an opioid, which means naloxone by itself does not reverse xylazine's effects. The California Department of Public Health warns that xylazine can complicate overdoses and cause severe skin injuries, even as officials stress that naloxone should still be given whenever an opioid overdose is suspected. The California Department of Public Health outlines recommended clinical and harm reduction responses.
Local overdose trends
Ventura County's 2024 fatal-overdose report recorded 200 overdose deaths for the year, with fentanyl detected in 113 of those cases and xylazine listed as contributing to three deaths. The county medical examiner noted that total overdoses fell from earlier peaks, even as fentanyl remained the leading contributor to overdose fatalities. The Ventura County Medical Examiner 2024 report lays out the data investigators used while building the case.
Legal implications
When Wiley was first charged, prosecutors alleged 17 additional felonies tied to drug sales, firearms and conspiracy. The plea resolves some of those counts but leaves sentencing to the judge. Under California law, a conviction for second-degree murder ordinarily carries a sentence of 15 years to life in state prison, and special allegations or enhancements can increase that exposure, according to Justia. A March 2025 news release from the Ventura County District Attorney's Office summarized the original slate of charges.
Health officials and harm reduction groups continue to push naloxone distribution, testing supplies and treatment referrals as the primary tools to reduce deaths from synthetic opioids. For local resources, training and naloxone distribution information, Ventura County Public Health's Opioid Overdose Prevention Program remains a key hub. Ventura County Public Health maintains links to local services and guidance.
