My baby-faced firefighter son opened his phone and ended up dead... five years later I have justice

His lifeless assemblage laic inactive connected the bed, peaceful yet heartbreakingly silent—'like an angel,' his parent said, her dependable trembling arsenic tears streamed down her face. 

Laura Collanton couldn't fathom what had happened to her 20-year-old son, Spencer Newsom, who had specified a agleam aboriginal up of him.

Newsom died successful his Roseville, California flat aft taking a pill purchased connected Snapchat, believing it to beryllium Xanax. 

Now 5 years aft his death, Christopher Williams, 29, has been arrested for fentanyl poisoning successful transportation with Spencer's decease and charged with execution and possession of drugs for sale, marking a first-of-its-kind solved acold case. 

The Placer County Sheriff's Office has pioneered charging dealers with homicide successful specified cases and this is the archetypal solved acold lawsuit involving a fatal fentanyl poisoning successful California, the sheriff's bureau confirmed. 

Williams' arraignment is acceptable for February 20, wherever helium volition beryllium represented by the Placer County Public Defender's Office. District Attorney Morgan Gire said his bureau alleges Williams provided the fentanyl that killed Newsom, knowing its dangers, and that they tin beryllium it 'beyond a tenable doubt'.

'This lawsuit was considered 'cold,' but our detectives didn't springiness up,' sheriff's officials said. Williams is presently held without bail.

For Newsom's parent Collanton, this apprehension is the culmination of years of tireless advocacy for justness and fentanyl awareness. Speaking to DailyMail.com, she described seeing Williams successful tribunal for the archetypal time. 

'It was incredibly shocking and gut wrenching to look him successful the face. I had nary thought what helium looked like,' said Collanton done tears.

Spencer had precocious moved into a shared flat adjacent his household successful Roseville. It was September 21, 2020, during the tallness of the COVID lockdown. 

His aboriginal was bright: helium had finished EMT classes astatine Sierra College, had been accepted into the Fire Academy, and was adjacent nominated to beryllium unit chief. He and his girlfriend, a 'star couple' according to his mother, dreamed of careers arsenic a firefighter and a caregiver and had perfectly planned retired their lives.

The nighttime earlier his death, Collanton had sent a elemental substance - conscionable checking in, hoping to docket lunch. She ne'er imagined it would beryllium the past connection she'd ever nonstop him.

It was Spencer's woman who archetypal raised the alarm connected Monday afternoon, calling his 16-year-old sister. His determination hadn't changed each day; helium hadn't gone to work. A unspeakable feeling settled in: thing was wrong. 

Collanton rushed to his apartment, lone to find his car parked extracurricular and nary reply astatine the door. A mother's intuition screamed that thing was wrong. She called Spencer's begetter and together, with their spouses, they raced to the apartment, bracing themselves for the worst. 

They contacted the constabulary for a payment check, but Spencer's father, determined to act, climbed onto the balcony and forced his mode inside. 

'He looked similar helium was asleep, conscionable laying connected his bed. He was afloat dressed. He conscionable looked similar an angel laying there. He looked perfect. But helium was gone. He'd been gone, astir apt since the nighttime before,' said Collanton.

Collanton's household was blindsided by their son's cause use. While helium had struggled with anxiousness and experimented with marijuana successful precocious school, his parents had gotten him help, and helium hadn't utilized since - until that devastating day. 

'He made a mistake and it outgo him his life,' said Collanton. 

'But we didn't cognize to person a speech astir idiosyncratic hiding a deadly substance successful your drug,' she said. 'If he'd person gotten a Xanax, a morganatic Xanax similar helium thought helium had gotten, Spencer would not person died. You don't dice from Xanax.'

The isolation of the Covid lockdown compounded Collanton's grief and shock. Initially, she felt wholly unsocial successful her loss, unaware that different families were experiencing the aforesaid tragedy. 

It wasn't until she turned to societal media that the horrifying world of the fentanyl situation became clear. 

Thousands of parents shared akin stories, and she was stunned by the soundlessness surrounding the issue. 

She said determination were nary nationalist warnings, nary authorities acknowledgment of the escalating crisis. Yet, wrong a fewer abbreviated years, fentanyl became the starring origin of decease for Americans aged 18 to 45, surpassing car accidents and adjacent cancer. 

'You'd deliberation it would beryllium a nationalist situation if you're losing 200 kids a day. That's a level clang each azygous time for the past 4 years,' she said, emphasizing the sheer standard of the problem.

'[These cases] don't get investigated, and you don't get calls back, and it gets enactment connected a shelf, which is what happens passim our state for astir 95 percent of parents who suffer a loved 1 this way,' she said.

Collanton warns that societal media has go a unsafe caller avenue for cause trafficking, with apps similar Snapchat playing a cardinal role. 

'The cause scenery has changed, and it's nary longer gathering a trader successful a backmost alley, you know, similar we utilized to spot connected each of the aged TV shows. Social media is the cause superhighway. 

Fast guardant to today, Collanton said she couldn't judge an apprehension had been made.

'I ne'er thought I'd spot the day,' she said.

For years she worked intimately with detectives connected her lad Spencer's case, adjacent becoming an advocator and talker for the Placer County 'One Pill Can Kill' program. 

Through her advocacy, she discovered national engagement successful the probe and, remarkably, learned the individuality of the antheral she believed was liable for Spencer's decease – helium had antecedently served clip for cause trafficking. 

Having mislaid anticipation of seeing justness for Spencer, peculiarly due to the fact that instrumentality enforcement couldn't entree his telephone data, she focused connected supporting different families with akin pending cases.

Nearly 2 years later, she received a telephone from the Placer County Special Opioid Task Force, a recently formed unit. A detective she knew from her speaking engagements asked to reappraisal Spencer's case, which had been sitting dormant. 

Roseville constabulary readily handed implicit the evidence. The task unit detectives began their investigation, but they faced a important hurdle: important determination and compartment telephone information had been erased aft 2 years, arsenic is often the case. 

These 'unicorn' detectives, as Collanton calls them, persevered, going supra and beyond emblematic investigative efforts. 

A twelvemonth later, connected Collanton's day successful August, aft months of failed attempts to entree Spencer's telephone (it had been disconnected and uncharged), a detective called with unthinkable news. 

That morning, Collanton had spoken to Spencer, saying, 'Son, springiness maine a sign. Give maine a large one. It's my birthday. Just fto maine cognize you're with maine today... I request a large sign, Kiddo.' 

And then, the detective's called: they had yet breached into Spencer's phone. 

Eight months prior, the DA's bureau had informed her they knew who was liable but lacked capable evidence. 

Thirteen much months passed earlier they called again, requesting a household meeting. Collanton, expecting lone an update, was stunned to larn they had made an arrest. The antheral she had agelong suspected was yet successful custody.

Williams could look 15 years to beingness successful situation for murder. Additional charges oregon enhancements could effect successful a longer sentence. 

'I consciousness truthful honored that that idiosyncratic cared capable astir my kid to support digging,' Collanton said. 'I consciousness truthful hopeful. This lawsuit tin gives different parents anticipation that possibly their babies, who died earlier and aft Spencer, person a accidental to spot justness too.'

While Collanton said she is 'ecstatic' than an apprehension has been made, she said she inactive doesn't consciousness similar the section has been closed.

'There's ne'er closure, never,' she said. 'It helps maine to cognize that this antheral cannot merchantability to different quality being. He cannot instrumentality idiosyncratic else's babe from them.'

Though acknowledging that amerciable cause usage is ne'er condoned, and rejecting victim-blaming, Collanton argues that selling fentanyl disguised arsenic morganatic medicine pills, starring to fatal fatalities, is execution and should beryllium prosecuted arsenic specified 'no substance wherever you live'.

She points to California's Proposition 36 and 'Alexandra's Law,' which, similar DUI laws, pass fentanyl dealers of imaginable execution charges for consequent fatal offenses. 

'It lone takes 2.5 milligrams of fentanyl to termination an mean adult,' she emphasizes, 'and you're talking thousands of doses, capable to termination a tiny city, that 1 trader could perchance have. So adjacent if you apprehension 1 idiosyncratic and get them disconnected the street, deliberation of each the radical you could beryllium saving.' 

The time earlier Spencer died, Collanton exchanged a elemental but loving substance connection with her son. 

She told him she missed him and that she loved him. He replied, 'I emotion you too.' 

The pursuing day, wholly unaware that Spencer had already passed away, Collanton saw a occurrence motortruck extracurricular and, reasoning of his imagination of becoming a firefighter, snapped a photograph and sent it to him with the message, 'Pulled up adjacent door. This volition beryllium you soon!' 

Looking back, she said she wonders if this was a sign, a connection from Spencer, a mode of saying, 'Mama, you request to find me.' 

'Don't ever accidental not, my kid,' she said. 'One pill genuinely tin kill, and it's not conscionable the pills. It's successful each thoroughfare drug. It's truthful lethal and almighty that it tin unopen your respiratory strategy down successful 3 minutes, truthful if you're alone, you cannot past it.'

Collanton remembers her son, Spencer, arsenic a 'brilliant, agleam light,' whose beingness the satellite deserved. She acknowledges the immense symptom of losing a kid and understands wherefore galore parents find it excessively hard to stock their stories. 

However she feels compelled to talk out, believing that Spencer's communicative deserves to beryllium told.

'He deserves to prevention lives. He didn't get to bash that arsenic a firefighter, but helium gets to bash it indirectly done me,' she said.

'Whether it's to 1 person, oregon a 1000 kids successful an assembly, they locomotion retired of determination remembering his sanction and who helium was arsenic a person, and possibly they'll stock it, and possibly they'll marque antithetic decisions for themselves.'