Fernando Estevan Hi, 31 at the time of the alleged offense, faces a third-degree murder charge in Hennepin County after prosecutors alleged he supplied drugs to a woman who later died at a Bloomington hotel. The complaint, filed November 5, alleges that Hi gave her methamphetamine and left her in the hotel parking lot.
What the Complaint Alleges
The alleged offense took place on or about July 26, 2025, at the Doubletree Hotel. According to MN Crime, officers were dispatched at about 5:14 p.m. after a report of an unresponsive woman who was not breathing in the parking lot. Emergency responders treated her and took her to Fairview Southdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The county medical examiner determined that the immediate cause of death was combined fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity and classified the manner of death as accidental, the outlet reported. The complaint charges Hi with one count of third-degree murder, alleging that he gave the woman a Schedule I or II controlled substance that proximately caused her death, without intending to kill her. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and/or a $40,000 fine, according to the report.
Accounts and Records Cited in the Case
Hotel witnesses told investigators that a man and a woman brought the victim through the lobby on a chair and tried to put her into a white SUV. One witness said the woman’s lips were blue. The SUV’s driver checked her for a pulse, found none and alerted hotel staff, who called 911.
According to the report, the pair left the woman in the chair in the parking lot and walked away. Police reviewed lobby video and gathered descriptions of the two people during the investigation.
Records and Interview Focus on Hi
Investigators traced a phone number that had texted the second woman at the hotel to Hi through subscriber and billing records. Lyft records also identified Hi as the account holder for a ride ordered to the hotel that day, according to the outlet’s reporting.
In a June 2026 interview, the second woman told police she arranged the ride with Hi, who met them in the hotel lobby. She said he had methamphetamine, smoked it using a pipe and passed it to the victim, who took a hit. The woman said the victim later appeared impaired, briefly woke and then nodded off again. The account says one of the men in the room administered Narcan.
The Second Woman’s Account
The second woman told investigators that Hi instructed people in the room to turn off their phones and said he was going to get a car to take the victim to the hospital. She said he did not return and that he was the only person who gave the victim drugs while she was at the hotel.
When the complaint was filed, Hi was in federal custody in North Dakota on a pending federal controlled-substance charge, the report noted. A judge set bail at $500,000 in the Hennepin County case. The charge remains an allegation; Hi has not been found guilty in court.
Overdose Deaths in Hennepin County
Hennepin County reported 264 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2024, with fentanyl involved in more than 91% of them, according to the Hennepin County opioid-response strategy page.
The Charge and Overdose-Prevention Context
Minnesota Statute 609.195(b), as published by the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, defines this form of third-degree murder as unlawfully distributing a Schedule I or II controlled substance that proximately causes a death, without intent to cause death. Statewide, drug overdose deaths rose 3%, from 994 in 2024 to 1,025 in 2025, driven by an increase in stimulant-involved deaths even as opioid overdose deaths declined, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Those statewide figures do not establish a trend in Hennepin County.
Hennepin County says its syringe-service programs provide overdose-prevention education, access to naloxone and safer-use supplies, and referrals to health care and substance-use treatment. The county’s description identifies naloxone access but does not provide specific instructions on administering it or calling 911; it also does not indicate that these services were involved in this case.
