Strength through tragedy: Newton mother’s pursuits for justice lead to critical jury trial, law changes

Shannon Allen not only wants justice for her daughter, but for other families who have also had loved ones die to fentanyl.

Her daughter, Kristen Ewing, was 25 years old when she died of an overdose of fentanyl thinking it to be heroin. That was in 2023. For the past two years, Allen has spent nearly every day at the Iowa State Capitol trying to get laws passed that would hold drug dealers accountable for supplying lethal doses of fentanyl.

One of the bills that advanced through the House this year is nicknamed “Kristen’s Law” in honor of Allen’s daughter. It has not been signed into law, but in its current form it would apply a first-degree murder sentence to individuals who sold doses of fentanyl that resulted in the death of the person who consumed it.

Allen’s advocacy also established greater clarity for an existing law and extended jurisdictional prosecuting powers. The next step in Allen’s search for justice was to see this law applied to the person accused of selling fentanyl to Ewing in Polk County. It was to be resolved in a jury trial in Jasper County.

Taylor Nelson, of Des Moines, was accused of delivering a controlled substance of 5 grams or less, which is a Class C felony in Iowa. But she was also subject to an enhancement charge, meaning the jury would have to determine whether Nelson was responsible for Kristen Ewing’s death.

Following a grueling three-day trial and an approximately 90-minute deliberation, the jury determined Nelson was guilty of selling Kristen Ewing fentanyl. But the jury was split on whether Nelson was actually responsible for killing her. If all 12 jurors had agreed, she would be facing more prison time.

Pending the results of Nelson’s sentencing hearing, she could be looking at 10 years in prison. Allen is unsure how to feel about the verdict, especially when it comes to the enhancement falling through. It is important, she said, for victims’ families to have laws that are not going to create so much red tape.

“I absolutely understand there are things that need to be proven,” she said. “Everybody is innocent until proven guilty; however, like with Kristen’s trial, the whole point of us being able to expand the venue location … was so that they could move forward and press charges. And that was accomplished.”

In 2023, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds cracked down on fentanyl crimes. Penalties were strengthened for delivering, possessing or manufacturing fentanyl, based on the amount. Sentences would be three times what they normally are for when minors are involved or if a person died or was injured.

“My understanding is this case is the first case under the new law — that went into effect July 1 — of the fentanyl and being charged three times and so forth,” Allen said in an interview with Newton News. “Because of that, there are still some things that need to be looked at and modified and go from there.”

The verdict only complicates matters further. Allen said the county attorney’s office has not seen a guilty verdict on a regular charge and a hung jury on the enhancement before. There are questions over whether there is grounds for a mistrial and retry the enhancement. Attorneys are researching the matter.

It’s going to take time, but Allen is unwavering in her pursuits. She has not forgotten the pain she felt when her child’s life was taken away to abruptly.

“I don’t want families to go through what I’ve gone through,” Allen said. “We didn’t only just lose our daughter; we lost our future with her. It destroys me thinking about my granddaughter in the future if she says to me, ‘What happened to mommy? And what did you do?’ I want to be able to show her Kristen wasn’t a statistic.”

RELAPSE TURNS INTO TRAGEDY

Kristen Ewing, 25, was found hunched over a trash can in the bathroom of her Newton residence by her husband, Riley Ewing, after he returned home from work the afternoon of July 9, 2023. He was greeted at the door by Kristen Ewing’s 4-year-old daughter. She told him “mommy’s purple.”

Eight hours earlier, he remembered giving his wife her medication and a kiss goodbye before starting his day. She was laying in bed. She was fine. He remembered calling her on his break, but she did not answer her phone. He was about to know why. Kristen Ewing was cold to the touch, and she wasn’t breathing.

Police arrived to the scene and found a piece of tin foil on the ground, along with some tubes and a hollowed out pen. A lighter was found still clutched in Kristen Ewing’s hand. They also found a container of three rock-like substances. From what they could tell, it looked like it could be heroin.

Footage from police body cameras showed Riley Ewing kept his wife’s daughter in her room with the door closed while paramedics assessed the situation. He held back tears when he had to call his wife’s mother and tell her that Kristen was gone. Allen’s cries could be heard from the phone speakers.

Five days before, Allen had spent the Fourth of July with her daughter and granddaughter. It was the last time Allen saw her daughter alive. A photo of Kristen Ewing and her daughter from that day was admitted as evidence. Both are smiling. Allen testified her daughter was a carefree spirit and had a big laugh.

The same smile would be seen again in a family picture at her brother-in-law’s wedding on July 8, 2023, the day before she died. But behind that smile was a deep struggle. Allen testified that her daughter had a drug addiction, but she had found treatment at a facility an hour away from Newton.

Knowing that made the news of her daughter’s death all the more devastating. Allen told the jurors her husband drove her to the house, and there she stayed until medical examiners brought Kristen Ewing out in a body bag. She gave her daughter one last hug goodbye. It was the worst day of Allen’s life.

CONFESSION AND A PAPER TRAIL

Taylor Nelson was brought into a room for questioning on Sept. 10, 2024. A year had passed since Kristen Ewing died. Detective Nathan Popenhagen of the Newton Police Department had only just introduced himself and read Nelson her rights before she brought it up.

Popenhagen had been investigating this case for some time. He wore a body camera when he questioned Nelson, and much of the footage was shared with the jury. In the video, Nelson confessed that she had sold Kristen Ewing heroin and that she had obtained the drug the day she sold it to her friend.

“I never meant to hurt her,” Nelson said in the video, adding that she told herself if ever she got arrested for this crime she would accept her punishment.

In court, Popenhagen said the goal of investigating an overdose death is to find the dealer. Oftentimes police obtain search warrants and scour through social media feeds, text messages, private communications and phone records. He had already obtained thousands of pages of social media records.

These records were provided by Kristen Ewing’s mother, who managed to convert all of her daughter’s Facebook data into electronic files. Popenhagen obtained a search warrant for Nelson’s Facebook messages and found drug-related activity between her and Kristen Ewing starting at early as July 5, 2023.

Some of the messages had been unsent, leaving behind no record of what was said before the responses were effectively deleted. On July 7, 2023, Kristen Ewing asked Nelson: “Hey you still got that stuff?” She told Nelson she would buy it from her, and asked her how much she could get.

Nelson indicated in Facebook messenger that “he” had a gram left to sell, and it was “fire.” A gram weighs about as much as a piece of gum.

In her interview with Popenhagen, which defense attorney Christopher Clausen called an interrogation, Nelson indicated that man, the supplier, was a preppy looking Des Moines-area barber who had an addiction to fentanyl powder. Nelson remembered he drove a nice car. He gave her the fentanyl, she said.

But heroin is what Kristen Ewing was after. Nelson told Popenhagen as such. The Facebook messages showed Kristen Ewing agreed to pay $225 for an illegal substance and even went so far as to float $100 on Cash App before the transaction. She would meet with Nelson at a nail salon in Des Moines.

It was a chaotic drug deal from the start. Kristen Ewing indicated early on that she was getting her daughter ready to go with her to Des Moines and that she needed to stop by the bank to withdraw enough money. Kristen Ewing then asked how the deal will work at a nail salon. Nelson said she had it covered.

At some point Nelson said this kind of deal wouldn’t happen again. Kristen Ewing reassured her and told her how much she appreciated Nelson, who added that she felt horrible for doing this. Kristen Ewing got what she came for and then went home. The next day, she would have to travel with family to a wedding.

‘DOPE SICK’

Riley Ewing, 28, had only been married to Kristen Ewing for about seven months before she died. They married in the grand courtroom of the Jasper County Courthouse, the same place he would inevitably testify in Nelson’s trial. His testimonials were slow, and he acted like he didn’t understand the questions.

But he did know that Kristen Ewing was an addict, and he also knew that she sought treatment. On the day of his half-brother’s wedding, Riley Ewing said his wife seemed “pretty normal” and did not appear to have any withdrawal symptoms. He also said he was not aware of any comments saying she was “dope sick.”

Defense counsel repeatedly questioned Riley Ewing on his knowledge of his wife’s involvement with escort activities and his actions following her death. Clausen asked about his text confrontation with a person he assumed provided Kristen Ewings the drugs; a person that was not Nelson.

Clausen asked about the phone calls received from one of his wife’s clients inquiring about the details of her death. He asked if Riley Ewing had assisted with the escort services. He asked if they were trying to have a baby together, and, if they were, why two used condoms were found in the basement.

Body camera footage from Newton Police Officer Randy Oldfield later confirmed first responders had found three positive pregnancy tests in the bathroom where Kristen Ewing’s body was found. Further tests showed Kristen Ewing was, indeed, pregnant at the time of her death.

Riley Ewing couldn’t give Clausen a straight answer.

At the time of his wife’s death, Riley Ewing worked first shift at Newton Correctional Facility from 6 a.m to 2 p.m. It was a job he obtained in part because of his sister-in-law, Angela Bartlett, who helped him develop his résumé. Bartlett was called to testify on the events of her wedding and Riley Ewing’s intellect.

She told county prosecutors that Riley Ewing may not have the greatest social skills or be able to live independently. Police body camera footage from the day Kristen Ewing died also showed Riley Ewing could not spell his wife’s name correctly. He also got his wife’s daughter’s age wrong on a crowdfunding page.

Bartlett also testified that her wedding was full of veterans — it was even themed red, white and blue — so she was certain no drugs were used or sold at the reception. She did not hear about any comments saying Kristen Ewing was going through withdrawal symptoms or appeared “dope sick.”

IT WASN’T HEROIN, IT WAS FENTANYL

Evidence recovered from the scene included a lighter, foil, plastic straws and rock-like substances. Officers and even the evidence technician for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation analyzed the drug as “possibly heroin/fentanyl.” Kristen Ewing purchased a gram, but only 0.2 grams remained.

Carey McConnell, a criminalist for the Iowa DCI Crime Lab, testified at Nelson’s trial about her lab report and how she processes and analyzes evidence. Her findings determined with 99.73 percent confidence the rock-like substances were not heroin, a natural opioid, but rather fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.

Although the crime lab does not perform purity tests for fentanyl, McConnell said the drug was not cut with any other controlled substances but did have fillers.

Lindsey Haldiman, chief medical examiner in Jackson County in Missouri, was recruited by the state to conduct the autopsy report. In her testimony, she explained the findings in her report and explained what fentanyl does to the human body. Typically, she said, it is used for pain relief.

Fentanyl causes sedation and it is a respiratory depressant, Haldiman explained. When abused, it can potentially stop a person from breathing. It is also a highly addictive substance and can lead to death. Haldiman estimated 200 to 300 of the autopsies she has conducted have been fentanyl-related deaths.

Based on her report, Haldiman believed Kristen Ewing’s cause of death was fentanyl intoxication. Her report found no significant trauma or disease. External examinations found nothing abnormal. Internal examinations found blood and a frothy liquid in her airways and lungs, which is consistent with opioid deaths.

Toxicology reports verified fentanyl was in Kristen Ewing’s blood, as were traces of norfentanyl, which is a metabolite of fentanyl produced when the body tries to break down the substance. Haldiman concluded Kristen Ewing consumed fentanyl, broke down some of it but died before the rest could be broken down.

Haldiman described the physiological process that happens when a person overdoses on fentanyl. Fluid builds up, the lungs stop breathing and the heart stops. She went on to confirm that fentanyl did not contribute to the death of Kristen Ewing but rather resulted in her death.

In Clausen’s cross-examination, he questioned if the information provided to Haldiman before the autopsy swayed her decision or skewed her opinion. He reasoned that knowing it was an overdose subjected the medical examiner to confirmation bias. He also pointed out other causes of respiratory depression.

Haldiman said pneumonia, heart failure or severe allergic reactions can cause slowed breathing. In redirect, prosecutors from the Jasper County Attorney’s Office asked if there was evidence of pneumonia, heart failure or a severe allergy. Haldiman said no and that her opinion of the findings had not changed.

GUILT OR GUILTY?

Nelson and Kristen Ewing had known each other since they were teenagers. They called each other “sis” from time to time. One week after they last saw each other at the nail salon, Nelson received a Snapchat from someone telling her Kristen Ewing had died of an overdose. She immediately reached out to friends.

My sister died … It’s all my fault … I’m so upset right now … I’m not really OK.

Four message threads were shared with jurors showing how guilty Nelson felt after finding out her friend had died. In a few messages Nelson shared a video she found. The video depicts a night sky with a single bright star. Two people are talking to each other. It’s Kristen Ewing’s mother and daughter.

To them, that star is a spiritual sign. Allen tells her granddaughter that big bright star all alone in the night sky must be her mommy watching over them.

“Good night, mommy,” the granddaughter says.

“We miss you,” the grandmother says. “…She’s watching over you right?”

“Yeah … Mommy, I’m down here!”

It wouldn’t be until Aug. 11, 2023 that a celebration of life would be held for Kristen Ewing.

Despite how close she claimed they were, Nelson did not attend the funeral. Nelson testified she did not know when it was being held. County attorneys pointed out she had been made aware and that a photo with a date and time had been shared to her. The prosecution suggested guilt stopped her from going.

Less than two weeks after the celebration of life, Nelson reached out to Allen and asked how her granddaughter was doing. Allen was polite and she responded honestly, telling Nelson that she is adjusting to her new life. Nelson said to tell Allen’s granddaughter that she misses her. Allen suggested they get together.

Nelson told her of course. By this time, Allen had already downloaded her daughter’s Facebook data and the contents of her private messages. Allen knew of the alleged drug deal with Nelson. She didn’t hide it either. Allen was upfront and told Nelson she wanted to know her supplier.

“You do know that score is the score that killed her,” Allen said.

But Nelson deflected to Riley Ewing, adding that she tried to get Kristen Ewing to go to treatment. She instructed Allen to look at past messages between the two, claiming she is always saying no when Kristen Ewing asked for drugs. Nelson denied ever selling her drugs and said she must have went to another person.

Three days after Nelson was questioned by the detective from the Newton Police Department, she told Jasper County Jail staff that she was going to kill herself.

Nelson testified that a jailer had slammed the door in her face after making that statement. Shortly after, Nelson tied a sheet to the balcony rail of her jail pod and jumped over. Natasha Henry, one of the jailers working at the time of the incident, told jurors that she tried to acquire a smock to protect Nelson from hurting herself.

When she jumped over the balcony, Henry and fellow jailer Nathan Lanferman entered the pod and intervened. Henry said Lanferman held Nelson up to keep the pressure off her neck. Nelson was eventually transferred to Mercy for medical attention. Henry recalled Nelson saying: Why’d you have to be so fast?

CHANGING STORIES

More than a dozen witnesses testified in the trial. The prosecution introduced countless social media messages and showed jurors body camera footage of the interview with Nelson and the scene in Kristen Ewing’s home. Kelly Bennett, assistant county attorney, prepared jurors in his opening statement:

“You’re going to hear from the defendant — in her own words — what happened,” he said. “You’re going to see her and hear her tearfully state, ‘I never meant to hurt her.’ You’re going to hear her say, ‘I told myself if I ever got picked up for this I was going to plead guilty and take what I deserve.’”

When it finally came time for Nelson to take the stand, she told jurors everything she said in that interview with the police detective wasn’t true. At the time, she said, she had relapsed on heroin and was still strung out and didn’t know what she was talking about. Nelson said she never sold Kristen Ewing heroin.

Apparently, the messages on Facebook of Nelson confirming she had a gram to sell to her friend were a ruse. Nelson testified it was a ploy to get Kristen Ewing to drive to Des Moines for a friend-to-friend intervention. Nelson said she was going to offer to get her nails done and maybe take her out to lunch.

Nelson alleged that when she attempted this intervention, it upset Kristen Ewing so much that it made her believe her friend didn’t even have the drugs. When Kristen Ewing asked for Nelson’s Cash App account to float $100, Nelson gave it to her. This was also part of her plan, she reasoned.

Bennett was skeptical that Nelson would continue to lead her friend on when she negotiated for a higher price. If her plan was to get her friend to Des Moines for an interview at a nail salon at Merle Hay Mall, he questioned whether it was necessary to haggle for an extra $25 when she offered to pay $200.

As for why she told her friends it was her fault that Kristen Ewing was dead, Nelson said she felt guilty for letting her walk away at the nail salon and not trying harder to help get her treatment. Again, the prosecution was skeptical. Bennett questioned Nelson over her choice of a nail salon for this intervention.

“I should have tried harder,” Nelson said. “And for that I failed Kristen.”

Prosecutors weren’t buying Nelson’s “elaborate plan” to lure her friend to Des Moines to give her information on a rehabilitation center in front of her child. Bennett pointed out the information she shared in the interview with Popenhagen was detailed and matched the records in the Facebook messages.

Again, Nelson suggested the information in that interview was not accurate.

“It’s not that hard to come up with a story,” Nelson said.

Bennett responded, “Is that what you’re doing right now for this jury?”

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

After replaying to the jurors the video clips of Nelson confessing to police detectives, Nicholas Pietrack, assistant county attorney, quoted famed basketball coach John Wooden in his closing argument: The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.

Pietrack suggested the video played before jurors speaks to Nelson’s true character, not the person they saw testify in front of them just moments ago. He also told jurors this trial and their decision is not based upon Kristen Ewing’s personal decisions. Pietrack paraphrased the medical examiner’s statement.

“Not only did fentanyl contribute to her death, it was the sole cause,” he said.

In his timeline of events, Pietrack put a question mark over May 12, 2025. That day, the day the jury was to deliberate, could mark the last chapter in this story.

Clausen remarked this was a tough case because no matter what there is now a daughter without a mother and a mother without a daughter. But he argued there are things the jurors need to think about. He alleged confirmation bias from examiners, and he questioned whether investigators were thorough.

Specifically, there were names of other potential dealers or suppliers that, he claimed, were never questioned. They at least never testified. He wondered why fingerprints were not lifted off the container holding the rock-life substances, or why DNA tests weren’t taken on the straws.

“You’re dealing with a very serious situation … and you didn’t look any farther?” Clausen asked.

He questioned why Riley Ewing removed text messages from Kristen Ewing’s phone. He said police didn’t question Nelson but rather interrogated a scared person who lost her best friend. Clausen said there are doubts about whether Kristen Ewing was “dope sick” or going through withdrawals at the wedding.

In the state’s rebuttal, Bennett told jurors the reason why the defense is exposing every embarrassing detail of Kristen Ewing’s personal life is because the less they like her the easier it is to dismiss Nelson’s case. It would be helpful and convenient if all clients were saints.

Regardless of Kristen Ewing’s life choices, Bennett argued it doesn’t make her any less of a person or les deserving of equal protection of the law. Kristen Ewing is a victim of something much larger, he added, and it doesn’t matter if Nelson did not know that what she was selling was fentanyl.

“It’s the risk you run when you sell drugs,” he said.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

It pains Allen to think that if her daughter had actually been sold heroin, she and her unborn grandchild might still be alive today. Instead, she was delivered a potent dose of fentanyl and never had the opportunity to survive. Which is why Allen is demanding more accountability from those who deal illegal drugs.

“They took my daughter’s life in their hands, and I feel in order to combat fentanyl or any illegal substance being sold, we need to put their lives in their own hands,” Allen said. “If they’re going to sell $200 for a gram of whatever, is that $200 worth spending time in prison for?”

To her, it is a cop-out for drug dealers to say they didn’t know a substance wasn’t fentanyl or contained fentanyl.

House Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, has worked closely with Allen at the Iowa Legislature to get her story heard. Her recollection of the events that led to her daughter’s death helped pass an enhancement to the governor’s 2023 fentanyl crimes law extending jurisdictions to other counties.

“Polk County didn’t feel like they had enough to prosecute, so they weren’t necessarily going to bring a case,” Dunwell said. “Jasper County wanted to. There was ambiguity if Jasper County could bring that case. Even though she died in Jasper County, she bought the drugs in Polk County.”

Dunwell largely credits Allen’s work for allowing the law to proceed ahead.

While the Iowa Legislature has since convened for the year, Dunwell said he is committed to refining the work-in-progress Kristen’s Law. He noted the provision that would add a first-degree murder sentence — life in prison — would most likely need changed if it ever hoped to be approved by lawmakers.

“Even though there has been a lot of work in enhancing the penalties for fentanyl, here’s the challenge: So often in court the drug dealer’s lawyer will say my client sold that but they didn’t know it was laced with fentanyl,” Dunwell said, noting it would be up to the state to prove the dealer knew it was laced with fentanyl.

By dialing down the degree of murder, Dunwell said the law would preclude drug dealers from using that type of defense. Iowa leaders have shown they are in agreement that fentanyl is a huge problem; the vast majority of opioid overdoses are related to fentanyl.

“This is a huge problem,” Dunwell said. “…And it’s growing. Iowa has kind of leveled off, but it hasn’t leveled off as much as other states.”

Knowing Kristen’s death certificate says she died of an overdose is upsetting to Allen, because it doesn’t tell the full story. Yes, she had been an addict and had even sought out treatment. Allen said she clearly purchased illegal drugs in what would be considered a relapse. But Kristen Ewing was ultimately deceived.

She was dead before she ever hit the floor.

“My daughter didn’t have a chance,” Allen said.

Still, when someone hears that Kristen Ewing overdosed and was an addict, Allen said some people might feel it is justified. Allen isn’t one of those people.

“Kristen had a lot of errors but she is not at fault for dying,” she said.