A 22-year-old Aurora man faces a May trial on charges he supplied heroin that prosecutors say eventually led to a woman’s overdose death.
John Chappell, who is free on $100,000 bail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-induced homicide in connection to the 2012 death of 30-year-old Stephanie Wood of Portland, Ore.
She died at an Aurora hospital shortly after an overdose in a Farnsworth Avenue motel room.
Authorities allege Chappell delivered the heroin involved in Wood’s death to Charles Q. Snyder, who provided it to Wood. Snyder, 27 was charged with heroin possession in 2012. His case is pending.
Last year, Chappell unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the drug-induced homicide law on the grounds it included a greater punishment than other crimes involving negligence and death, but Kane County Judge John Barsanti denied the motion’s request to dismiss the charge.
Chappell is scheduled for trial on May 4. If convicted, Chappell faces mandatory prison time.