GRAPEVINE, Texas — A Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict a North Texas woman on a murder charge in connection with the overdose of her boyfriend, according to her defense attorney Tiffany Burks.
Kami Ludwig, who turned herself into Tarrant County on Feb. 12, was, however, indicted on the two counts of possession of a controlled substance she faced.
Grapevine police said officers responded on Nov. 20, 2023, to a home in the 4100 block of Mapleridge Drive for a death investigation.
The victim and former juvenile judge, 47-year-old Shane Nolen, was found dead in his bedroom "with signs consistent with an opioid overdose," police said.
Ludwig, who initially called 911 and identified herself as Nolen’s girlfriend, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, according to Grapevine police.
Police obtained a search warrant for the home and found .614 grams of cocaine, 4.08 grams of fentanyl-laced "M-30" pills, .348 grams of oxycodone and 7.70 grams of generic Xanax. Police also searched Ludwig's phone and found that she called an alleged dealer or source of the "M-30" pills multiple times and visited them in Fort Worth the day before Nolen died.
Ludwig even called Nolen while at the location, her arrest documents read.
They also found similar pills in her purse per the documents.
Detectives surmised that Ludwig purchased fentanyl-laced pills and “knowingly distributed” them to Nolen, police said, who hadn’t visited the location in Fort Worth.
A new law went into effect on Sept. 1, 2023, creating a criminal offense of murder for manufacturing or distributing fentanyl that results in death. Yet, that law has primarily been used to target dealers. Ludwig’s arrest documents read like she and Nolen were addicts and consenting drug users.
"We are grateful to the grand jury for their careful review of this case, which led to the decision not to indict my client on a fentanyl murder charge," Burks said in a statement. "Any drug overdose resulting in death is a tragedy. We continue to extend our deepest condolences to the friends and family mourning the loss of former Judge Shane Nolen."
Former federal prosecutor and defense attorney John Helms, who was not involved in this case, told WFAA that the fact Ludwig was an alleged 'buyer' likely influenced the grand jury's decision.
"You can make the argument that if the person hadn't gotten the drugs from whoever gave it to them--that they would have gotten them from somewhere else on their own free will," Helms said. "This law is meant for the vulnerable and unsuspecting; I think there's going to be a problem charging people where the victim is a user--or the suspect is a possible user too."
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