A North Texas woman was arrested for murder this week in connection with the fentanyl-related death of her boyfriend, a former juvenile judge for Tarrant County, in November 2023.
Kami Ludwig, 35, is being prosecuted for murder thanks to a new state law that lays the responsibility for a fentanyl-related death on the individual found guilty of manufacturing or supplying the fatal dose. Grapevine police spokesperson Amanda McNew reported to Fox 4 KDFW that investigators had found sufficient evidence that Ludwig “sought out the pills … bought them and brought them back to the victim,” her 47-year-old boyfriend, William Shane Nolen.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, several individuals have already been handed murder charges in North Texas since the so-called Tucker’s Law went into effect in September 2023. Alongside this legal deterrent, state authorities have launched several awareness-building campaigns to curb the deaths caused by this potent synthetic opioid, which is estimated to cause the deaths of around five Texans each day.
In the case of Nolen, Ludwig reportedly called 911 at about 4:45 a.m. on November 20 after waking up and finding him unresponsive in bed next to her at his home located in the 4100 block of Mapleridge Drive in Grapevine. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that he had died of mixed drug toxicity, with both fentanyl and trazodone, an antidepressant, found in his system, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
However, at the scene, Grapevine police allegedly discovered M-30 fentanyl-laced pills, Xanax, oxycodone, and cocaine inside the home, which investigators allege had been bought by Ludwig from dealers in Fort Worth and Louisiana.
Nolen had served as an associate juvenile court judge in the 323rd District until 2019 when he reportedly violated a court order in Denton County and allegedly partook in an after-hours poker party in chambers.
Ludwig’s defense attorney, Tiffany Burks, released a statement expressing condolences for Nolen’s family — he left behind a 9-year-old son — and asking that judgment “be withheld until all the facts and circumstances are known,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“We proudly defend Kami as she too struggles with the loss of a beloved friend,” the statement continued.
In Dallas, drug crime is on the rise, with 1,263 offenses clocked as of February 13, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. This represents a 5.1% rise from the year prior.
This and other types of criminality have been plaguing Downtown Dallas, which regularly records higher rates of motor vehicle thefts, assault offenses, drug violations, and car burglaries than neighboring Fort Worth’s city center, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
The Dallas Police Department has been struggling against a longstanding officer shortage. Although the City recommended a force of 4,000 officers in an analysis based on Dallas’ population size, DPD fields only around 3,000.
On top of this deficit, the department will have a budget of just $654 million this year. City leaders recently opted to spend considerably less on law enforcement operations than their counterparts in other high-crime jurisdictions, like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
