JUDGE EVANS REJECTS PLEA IN TEEN'S DEATH

(01/12/2006)
Plea rejected in teenager's death

By David Hedges, Publisher
Times Record-Roane County Reporter

A Spencer woman's guilty plea to three felony charges was not enough to satisfy Roane Circuit Judge Tom Evans, who suggested the woman should have taken some responsibility for the drug overdose that contributed to the death of a Roane County teen.

In a Monday hearing Evans rejected the plea agreement entered into by Cristal Coon, 24, of Spencer, who had been indicted on a charge of murder in connection with the death of 18-year-old Benjamin Murray.

Coon allegedly provided Murray with methadone, one of three drugs discovered in his system after he was found dead in his bathtub following a night of partying in March 2004.

An autopsy said Murray died from a combination of three drugs including methadone, diazepam and morphine complicated by drowning.

Coon was indicted on a charge of murder that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison....

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