Newton man charged in death of Mingo teen

A Newton man has been charged in connection with the Nov. 12 death of Shasta Sapp of Mingo.

Wyatt Andrew Franklin, 19, of Newton has been charged with involuntary manslaughter (a class D felony) for allegedly supplying and preparing oxymorphone, a drug that Sapp consumed the night she died that authorities allege contributed to her death.

On Nov. 12, sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel from Colfax responded to a report of an unresponsive female at 866 W. 120th St. S. in Colfax. On scene, they discovered 19-year-old Sapp and transported her to Skiff Medical Center in Newton where she was pronounced dead.

A press release issued Tuesday afternoon by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office indicated that during the course the investigation, authorities found Sapp had consumed alcohol and oxymorphone, a narcotic for pain relief that can cause euphoria, prior to her death. The level of the drug in her system contributed to her death, and authorities allege that Franklin supplied and prepared the oxymorphone that Sapp consumed.

Officials also noted that there was no evidence of physical or sexual assault in the case. Jasper County Sheriff Mike Balmer said Tuesday evening that because of rumors circulating that Sapp was sexually assaulted during the incident, his department wanted to assure that reports of abuse were unfounded.

State Medical Examiner Jonathan Thompson released Sapp’s cause of death Dec. 21 indicating an oxymorphone overdose, but because of the ongoing investigation, the official could not comment further on those findings.

A second person, Jason Bissell, 21, of Colfax also faces a charge stemming from the case. Bissell was accused of supplying alcohol to a person under the age of 21, a serious misdemeanor, and he was cited and released to appear.

According to Balmer, toxicology reports showed Sapp did not have alcohol in her system when medical examiners screened the victim, and the charges against Bissell were based on eye witness accounts that the 19-year-old was drinking the night of her death. The department believes the alcohol in Sapp’s system metabolized prior to the autopsy.

“We have numerous witnesses that indicated she was drinking earlier in the evening,” Balmer said.

However, the victim’s mother Linda Sapp said she never knew her daughter to drink alcohol or take narcotic pain killers and is skeptical that Sapp would have taken the drugs under her own power.

“The report makes it sound like she took it willingly,” she said this morning. “But that’s not our daughter.”

But she also said that her family feels vindicated with Franklin’s indictment.

“We’re happy with the charges because we don’t want this to happen to any other kid,” Linda Sapp said.

Franklin is also facing charges of delivery of a controlled substance (a class C felony) and is in violation of a two-year probation he is currently serving for drug related convictions he received on Sept. 26.

Franklin has been arrested and placed in the Jasper County Jail.

A spokesperson from the jail said Franklin is being held without bond this morning, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Jasper County District Court.