Memphis woman identified as victim in AR overdose death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police in Jonesboro, Arkansas have identified the woman who died from a fentanyl overdose last week as 35-year-old Tracy Marlar of Memphis.
According to her obituary, Marlar graduated from Nettleton High School in Jonesboro and worked as a technologist for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Although St. Jude has not confirmed her employment, she was licensed to practice there.
Police said Marlar was found dead inside a vehicle in the 700 block of West Monroe in Jonesboro, and Randy Joe Coaker, 38, was charged with aggravated death by delivery.
Arkansas man held on $3M in fentanyl death of Memphis woman
Investigators said Marlar went to Jonesboro to hang out with Coaker, and her text messages showed she paid Coaker for Oxycodone, the most common counterfeit pills pressed with fentanyl.
They said Coaker waited two hours before calling police and told officers he was not with Marlar when she overdosed. A witness told police they were both in the car with Marlar, and she saw Coaker remove green and blue “rock candy” from Marlar’s purse before he called 911.
Coaker was booked in the Craighead County Jail over the weekend on a charge of “death by delivery” — a new charge in Arkansas — and is being held on a $3 million bond. He is set to be back in court in May.
Last year, the Arkansas Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act was signed into law.
It makes trafficking of fentanyl an unclassified felony that carries a penalty of 25 to 60 years or life imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000.
Coaker was in court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing, but the Jonesboro Police Department said this was an ongoing investigation.
“Basically, there was an overdose associated with him as far as the delivery of drugs,” said Public Information Specialist Sally Smith. “It’s still an active case just simply because we are trying to see if we have any other cases that may tie to this.”
Marlar’s relatives have set up a GoFundMe account to cover funeral and burial costs.
Arkansas state lawmakers said in 2022, the Arkansas State Crime Lab reported 457 drug overdose deaths, and fentanyl was a contributing factor in 251 of those deaths.
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