Man provided fentanyl that killed acquaintance, then he hid body in Missouri, feds say

A 26-year-old Missouri man pleaded guilty to providing the fentanyl that killed an acquaintance he had known for several years, federal authorities said.

In his signed plea agreement, Quinton O’Bryan Adaway said he and the victim struggled with drug use. He would occasionally give the man — identified only as M.C. — controlled substances in exchange for cash or other drugs.

But in July 2020, the Ballwin man provided fentanyl capsules that killed his acquaintance, according to a Sept. 22 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Adaway warned M.C. the capsules were “more potent” than previous ones he’d taken, according to the plea agreement.

M.C. took the fentanyl in his vehicle outside the back of Adaway’s home, where he died of a fentanyl overdose, prosecutors said.

Adaway pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl, according to court records. His defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Adaway found M.C. dead in the vehicle within a day after providing the capsules, according to court records. Adaway pulled the victim out and tried to hide him in his backyard. He also removed the SIM card from M.C.’s cell phone and got rid of the phone.

M.C.’s family and significant other began looking for him on July 12, 2020 and contacted Adaway, authorities said. Adaway initially denied knowing where M.C. had been.

The next day, M.C.’s family reported him missing.

When the family tried tracking M.C.’s cell phone, they found that it was last near Adaway’s home, according to court records. They went to the home to confront Adaway, then called police.

Responding officers found M.C.’s body “was partially covered with cloth and items had been placed around it, in an effort to conceal (his) body,” officials said. They also found M.C.’s SIM card, some fentanyl capsules and other drug paraphernalia.

Adaway’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.

Prosecutors and his defense attorney plan to recommend a 10-year prison sentence, according to the news release. He was also sentenced in St. Louis County Circuit Court to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to abandoning a corpse.

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