Overdose death trial postponed to February

The trial of the La Crosse County woman charged with first-degree reckless homicide (drug delivery) in connection with the death of a 45-year-old Rhinelander man back in January 2023 has been postponed until February 2025.

Andrea Jean Walker, 43, was originally scheduled to stand trial this week but the case was delayed due, in part, to judicial changes in Oneida County Circuit Court.

Following the retirement of Judge Mike Bloom on July 31, the case was transferred to his successor, Judge Mary Sowinski. 

A pretrial conference was held on Sept. 24 at which time the defendant decided to waive any potential conflict posed by Sowinski’s former role as an assistant district attorney.

Sowinski advised defense counsel Stephen Sawyer that she represented the state during one non-evidentiary hearing in the case and was not familiar with the complaint or the investigation.

Walker agreed to proceed with Sowinski as presiding judge following a brief conference. 

Final pre-trial conferences were scheduled for January and the trial was rescheduled for Feb. 10-12.

According to a criminal complaint filed in July 2023, Walker is accused of being “the middleman” in a drug transaction wherein the Rhinelander man purchased heroin and methamphetamine. 

According to the complaint, the man was found dead in his Rhinelander home days after the alleged transaction took place in western Wisconsin.

The state crime lab later determined his cause of death was mixed drug toxicity/overdose (fentanyl and methamphetamine).

The criminal complaint details the police investigation that took place after a family member found the man deceased.

 “A large pile of white crystalline substance” was located on a dresser and a bed in the room where he was found, and other drug paraphernalia was located elsewhere in the residence, the complaint states.

A family member who had been living with the deceased told police the man had been “acting weird” and “bumping into things” the night before his death. 

The family member also told police the man had recently traveled to the Tomah area and was acting “very hyper” since he returned. 

The complaint also details investigators’ application for and use of search warrants to obtain Facebook and phone records tying Walker to the deceased, including references to a meeting between the two in La Crosse County days before the man was found dead.

In an interview with investigators, she admitted to being involved in a transaction between the deceased and individuals in La Crosse County in late January

“I guess it’s my fault if I’m the middleman,” she said, according to the complaint. 

The Class C felony carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison upon conviction.