A Denton County man has been charged with murder under Texas’ new fentanyl homicide law following an investigation into a deadly overdose late last year.
George Howard Cook II, 45, was arrested Monday at his home in Krum, Texas, according to the Denton Police Department. He is accused of selling a lethal mixture of heroin laced with fentanyl to 64-year-old Mark Saltsman, who was found dead in his Denton home on December 3, 2024.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner later ruled Saltsman’s death was caused by “mixed drug toxicity” involving heroin and fentanyl, along with diabetic ketoacidosis. Investigators say evidence tied the fatal drugs directly to Cook.
Police executing a search warrant at Cook’s home reportedly found heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamines, resulting in additional felony drug charges.
Cook is being held in Denton County Jail on murder and drug possession charges. No bond had been set as of Tuesday.
The arrest highlights the ongoing danger of fentanyl in Texas — let alone America, where law enforcement agencies have been battling a surge in overdoses linked to the synthetic opioid.
Just last month, a Collin County jury convicted 26-year-old Noah Gregory Honesty under the same law. As previously reported by DX, Honesty was found guilty of murder for selling fentanyl-laced pills that killed a 25-year-old woman in 2023. He was sentenced to 38 years in prison.
Texas toughened its approach to fentanyl-related deaths with the passage of House Bill 6 (HB6), which took effect on September 1, 2023. The law classifies fentanyl overdoses as “poisonings” and created a new charge called “fentanyl murder,” allowing prosecutors to pursue murder charges against dealers whose drugs result in death — like Cook and Honesty.