by ERIN PARROTT
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A South Carolina woman has been charged with fentanyl-induced homicide after investigators say she provided her live-in boyfriend with the deadly drug and failed to inform emergency personnel of a possible overdose.
According to an October 12, 2026, news release from the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), 36-year-old Jillian Stubenrauch of Walterboro, S.C. was arrested last Friday (October 9, 2026) following an investigation into her boyfriend’s death.
On September 6, 2026, at approximately 5:09 a.m. EDT, deputies responded to a residence on Driggers Lane in Walterboro to assist Colleton County Fire Rescue (CCFR) with an unresponsive adult male.
Stubenrauch reportedly told authorities she awoke to find her boyfriend, who was paraplegic, struggling to breathe. After he stopped breathing, she called for emergency assistance.
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Despite resuscitation efforts, the man was pronounced dead at the scene – and the investigation was subsequently turned over to the Colleton County coroner’s office.
More than a month later, on October 8, 2026, the coroner’s office notified investigators that toxicology results from the victim’s autopsy revealed an extremely high concentration of fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.
According to investigators, Stubenrauch failed to disclose her boyfriend’s drug use – or the possibility of a drug overdose – to responding emergency personnel. Had she done so, it would have allowed first responders to administer naloxone (or Narcan), a medication which reverses the effects of opioid overdoses by displacing the drug from binding sites on blocked receptors in the brain.
CCSO investigators subsequently interviewed Stubenrauch, at which point they learned she allegedly provided the victim with fentanyl – and assisted him in snorting the substance.
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Stubenrauch reportedly described the drug use as an attempt to relieve her boyfriend’s pain.
Following the investigation, Stubenrauch was arrested and charged with fentanyl-induced homicide. She was denied bond the following day and remained incarcerated at the Colleton County detention center.
The victim’s identity was not disclosed in the release.
Last spring, South Carolina passed a new fentanyl-induced homicide law – Act 61 of 2025 – over the objection of many solicitors who described the statute as ineffective, difficult to enforce and misleading for the families of victims.
“Under no circumstances will it be the game-changer some are touting it to be,” S.C. fourteenth circuit solicitor Duffie Stone wrote in a letter (.pdf) signed by eleven other circuit-level prosecutors. “Unfortunately, it will give grieving parents false hope of holding drug pushers responsible for their kills.”
Ironically, it is Stone’s office now tasked with prosecuting Stubenrauch under the law.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Stubenrauch is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. FITSNews will continue monitoring this case and provide updates as additional information becomes available.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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