The Tazewell County coroner’s jury has handed down a homicide ruling in the drug overdose death of a Cuba man found in an East Peoria hotel room.
Police were called to the Motel 6 on Camp Street Aug. 27, where they found 19-year-old Ryan Petefish unresponsive on the floor of one of the rooms.
Sgt. Shannon Swearingen testified officers found a syringe and two syringe caps in the trash can, as well as an empty prescription bottle.
Swearingen said a female went to the motel with Petefish Aug. 26, where they took Klonopin pills, smoked marijuana and swallowed methadone from the prescription bottle.
The female told police she could not wake Petefish the morning of Aug. 27, and he had a white foamy substance around his mouth.
Austin Snider, 22, of Canton, was charged last month with drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony, in connection with Petefish’s death.
Friends told police Petefish had traded a pair of hunting bows to Snider for 150 mg of methadone.
Court records said Snider denied selling Petefish the methadone that killed him, but he admitted to selling the drug to Petefish in the past.
Records also show the empty prescription bottle previously contained prenatal vitamins, which were registered to a female acquaintance of Snider’s.
Police reports said Snider could not explain why the bottle was found in the motel room.
His wife, 22-year-old Kristin Snider, has also been charged with obstruction of justice, a Class 4 felony, for denying to police that her husband had sold the drug to Petefish.
Coroner Dennis Conover said Petefish died of cardiac failure, caused by an overdose of meth and cannabis.
“There was very little emphasis on the cannabis, but it does help speed the heart up when combined with the methadone,” Conover said.
Conover added he had to be extra careful of the questions he asked of both the investigator and the jury during the inquest in order not to jeopardize the prosecution’s case.
“Someone has already been charged by the court in Petefish’s death, so it’s tricky,” Conover said.
Both Austin and Kristin Snider have been released on bond and will return to Tazewell County at 2 p.m. Nov. 19 for a preliminary hearing.
