A Polk County man has been charged with second-degree homicide after two women were found dead from drug overdoses in his home, authorities said.
Preliminary autopsy results Wednesday showed Tabitha Peak, 31, and Becky Beavers, 44, overdosed on prescription drugs, said Detective Kevin Cole with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Terry Hawkins was detained Saturday in Fannin County, Ga., on unrelated charges and admitted that two women were dead inside his home near Copperhill, Tenn., Detective Cole said. Officers found a large amount of prescription drugs in the house, the detective said.
On Wednesday, Mr. Hawkins was charged with two counts of second-degree homicide and two counts of failure to report a body, Detective Cole said. He is in the Polk County Jail.
As the state starts to see more overdoses of prescription drugs, police are cracking down on sellers, Detective Cole said.
“If we can trace down or identify where (the drugs) come from, (the sellers) are going to be charged with murder,” he said.
Mike Hall, director of the 10th Judicial District drug task force, said prescription abuse is the biggest drug problem in the state.
“A lot of times, certain medications and prescription drugs can be more dangerous than illegal drugs,” Mr. Hall said.
The high from prescription drugs fades quickly, but the drugs stay in the user’s system and can have lasting effects on the body, he said.