ST. LOUIS — A 26-year-old Ballwin, Missouri, man admitted Thursday to providing the fentanyl that killed a man and hiding the body in his backyard.
Late at night on July 11, 2020, or early the next morning, Quinton O'Bryan Adaway gave several capsules containing fentanyl to a man he'd known for several years and had sold to or traded drugs with in the past.
In his plea, Adaway said he had warned the man the capsules were more potent than the ones he had previously used. After acquiring the drugs, the man returned to his car parked in the back of Adaway's home on Holly Terrace Court, took the drugs, overdosed and died.
Later that day or the next, Adaway said he discovered the body and tried hiding it in his backyard by covering it with cloth and placing items around it. Then, Adaway removed a SIM card from the man's phone and disposed of it.
The man's family and girlfriend began looking for him on July 12, 2020. The girlfriend reached out to Adaway, who denied knowing where he was located. The next day, the family reported him missing to police and tracked his phone to Adaway's house.
Officers found the body as well as the SIM card, two of the man's debit cards, drugs and drug paraphernalia at Adaway's home.
Adaway pleaded guilty to one count of distributing fentanyl. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 12, and both prosecutors and defense have agreed to recommend a 10-year prison sentence.
He was previously sentenced to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to felony abandoning a corpse in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
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