A Tampa woman is speaking publicly about losing both her husband and her stepson to fentanyl overdoses in less than a year, a loss she says has reshaped how she talks about addiction with the people she loves. Lisa Burke's husband, John Burke, died of a fentanyl overdose in April 2020 at 51 years old. His son, Brandon Burke, died of a fentanyl overdose less than a year later, in 2021, at age 30.
Lisa Burke shared her family's story with FOX 13 Tampa Bay around National Overdose Awareness Day, which fell yesterday in Tampa. “Fentanyl stole my family,” she said, describing a grief that struck twice within the same year. Before his death, John Burke had received a pain medication prescription following back surgery, and Lisa Burke said she had specifically discussed with both John and Brandon the possibility that their drug supplies could be laced with fentanyl.
Two Athletes, Two Lives Cut Short
Both men had been standout athletes before addiction took hold. John Burke was a high school athlete who went on to attend Delta State on a football scholarship, and he later worked as a personal trainer and competed nationally in U.S. Masters Track and Field, where he was ranked. Brandon Burke was also a high school athlete who played baseball and was voted homecoming king.
According to the FOX 13 report, Brandon Burke experienced several tragic family losses while in college, and those losses helped fuel his addiction. At the time both men died, nobody was held criminally responsible, the outlet reported — a gap that stands in contrast to how Hillsborough County prosecutors are now pursuing similar cases.
Prosecutors Lean on Murder Statute
Under Florida law, prosecutors can charge a drug dealer with murder when a victim overdoses from drugs that dealer sold them, and Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez says her office has successfully prosecuted at least one such case, with the defendant now serving a life sentence. Florida Statute § 782.04 classifies the unlawful distribution of drugs like fentanyl that proximately cause a fatal overdose as first-degree murder for adult sellers, eliminating the need for prosecutors to prove intent to kill, according to Meltzer & Bell, P.A. Lopez has said fentanyl ranks among the top two or three scariest issues she confronts in her work, and state prosecutors say substance abuse impacts families across all demographics, socioeconomic statuses and races.
Hillsborough County has repeatedly used the drug-induced homicide statute in recent months. Hoodline previously detailed fentanyl murder charges filed by Sheriff Chad Chronister and Lopez, and similar fentanyl-laced-drug cases have involved at least two suspects in the county in recent months. Earlier this year, deputies charged a Riverview man with first-degree murder following a fatal fentanyl overdose, and a Tampa man was charged with murder after detectives used cell phone digital records to trace a fatal Ruskin overdose.
Deaths Are Falling, But the Crisis Persists
Even as prosecutors pursue harsher charges, the numbers show real movement. Fentanyl overdose deaths statewide declined 46% in the first six months of 2025, and Hillsborough County saw an even steeper 49% drop over the same period, according to Lopez. Still, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office reported 77 fentanyl overdose deaths in the first half of 2026, a reminder that substance abuse continues to have a devastating impact on families across the Tampa Bay region.
The local decline mirrors a broader trend. Statewide, total drug-related deaths fell 14% and opioid-related deaths dropped 26% in 2024 compared to the prior year, per the Florida Department of Health. Nationally, provisional CDC data cited by NAMI Florida shows overdose deaths dropped nearly 27% in 2024 to about 81,300, then fell another 14% in 2025 to roughly 69,973 — the lowest national total since 2019.
Officials and public health experts point to a combination of factors behind the improvement, including expanded access to naloxone and medication-assisted treatment. In Hillsborough County, the Coordinated Opioid Recovery network now incorporates a paramedicine initiative through the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay that dispatches paramedics daily to administer buprenorphine and connect overdose survivors to long-term treatment within 48 hours of a nonfatal overdose — widely considered the highest-risk window for a repeat or fatal event.
For Lisa Burke, the statistics and the prosecutions come after her own losses were never resolved through the courts. She said she hopes that sharing her family's story will shed light on the realities of substance addiction for other families who may be facing the same warning signs she once discussed with her husband and stepson.
