U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a man from Ballwin, Missouri who provided the fentanyl that killed a friend and then hid the man’s body to 10 years in prison.
Late in the evening of July 11, 2020, or early the next morning, Quinton O’Bryan Adaway provided several capsules containing fentanyl to a friend. The victim, identified in court documents as “M.C.,” had bought drugs from O’Bryan Adaway in the past or traded drugs with him, and both struggled with drug addiction. O’Bryan Adaway also warned M.C. that the capsules were more potent than the capsules that M.C. had previously used.
M.C. took the fentanyl in his car, overdosed, and died. Later that day or the next, O’Bryan Adaway discovered the body and tried to hide it in his backyard by partially covering it. He also removed the SIM card from M.C.’s cellular phone and disposed of the phone.
M.C.’s family and girlfriend began looking for him on July 12. M.C.’s girlfriend contacted O’Bryan Adaway, who denied knowing where he was. The next day, they reported M.C. missing, tracked M.C.’s cell phone to O’Bryan Adaway’s house, and then contacted the Ballwin Police Department.
Officers found M.C.’s body, the SIM card, two of the victim’s debit cards, drugs, and drug paraphernalia in O’Bryan Adaway’s home.
O’Bryan Adaway, 26, pleaded guilty in September to one count of distribution of fentanyl.
The Ballwin Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
