CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The jury trial for a Clarksville man charged with second-degree murder in the fentanyl-related death of his friend began Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
John Norman Vandal is accused in the December 2019 death of 28-year-old Kayla Marie Valasquez. Prosecutors allege Valasquez died after using fentanyl unlawfully distributed by Vandal, while the defense argues the two were friends who used drugs together and that the state cannot prove Vandal caused her death.
On the morning of Dec. 14, 2019, EMS responded to a home on Georgetown Road, where Valasquez was found unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Vandal on June 8, 2021, charging him with second-degree murder. The indictment alleges “the killing resulting from the unlawful distribution of fentanyl.”
Vandal has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecution: Victim sought help for withdrawal
Assistant District Attorney Dilon Barker told jurors the state’s case would show a clear chain of events linking the defendant to Valasquez’s death.
“A deadly drug, a delivery, directions for use, death,” Barker said. “That is what the state expects that the evidence in this case will show.”
He said Valasquez contacted Vandal on Dec. 13, 2019, seeking help with withdrawal symptoms. According to prosecutors, the two exchanged text messages arranging a fentanyl drop-off while Valasquez was shopping with her family at Marshalls.
Through text messages, Barker said, Valasquez asked Vandal to place it in the driver’s side door of her car. Prosecutors also alleged Vandal later sent follow-up messages encouraging further use and providing instructions. “The text messages will show that Kayla said she was scared,” he said.
According to the state, Valasquez was found unconscious around 4 a.m. the following morning. “By the time EMS arrived,” Barker said, “they pronounced Kayla dead.”
“This case is about one question: Did the defendant give Kayla the fentanyl that killed her?”
Defense: They did drugs ‘all the time together’
Defense attorney Chase Smith urged jurors to closely examine the state’s proof and warned against assuming criminal intent. “A murderer – that is what the state must prove to you that Mr. Vandal is,” Smith said to the jury. “A murderer – when the proof shows that Ms. Valasquez reached out to Mr. Vandal. When the proof shows that these two did drugs all the time together.”
Smith said the evidence would show Valasquez injected the drug herself and had a history of substance use. “The proof will show that Ms. Valasquez took it the most dangerous way possible,” he said. “The quickest way to get a high.
“It’s not a drug dealer relationship. They’re two friends, a part of a drug community,” he said. “The proof will show that everyone knew the dangers of what they were doing.
“You have to also decide whether she was getting drugs from somewhere else. … There’s no doubt to the exchange. I’m telling you Mr. Vandal met her in that parking lot under the covert instructions that Ms. Valasquez provided him,” Smith said.
Emotional testimony from victim’s father
The state’s first witness was Valasquez’s father, Paul Valasquez, who testified about his daughter’s life and struggles with addiction.
Valasquez said his daughter grew up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville. She graduated from Clarksville Academy in 2009, and was the mother of a now almost 9-year-old son. “He’s a great kid, and I couldn’t ask for a better grandson,” he said.
Valasquez testified that his daughter’s substance use began around 2015 and that he encouraged her to seek treatment. He said she attended Cumberland Heights rehabilitation but continued to struggle.
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On Dec. 13, 2019, Valasquez said, they ran family errands, decorated a Christmas tree and had dinner together. He testified that Kayla did not leave the home again that evening.
“The front door is literally right on the other side of the door from where I’m at,” he said about his bedroom. Valasquez said he never heard anyone come in or out that night.
During cross-examination, Smith questioned whether Valasquez was fully aware of his daughter’s activities and communications. Valasquez acknowledged there were things he did not know.
Family friend describes discovering body
Jeffrey Cothron, a family friend who lived in the home, testified that he discovered Valasquez unresponsive in her bedroom around 4 a.m. before leaving for work. Jurors listened to a recording of his 911 call, in which Cothron described Valasquez as not breathing as the dispatcher instructed him to perform CPR. “She’s cold, and her arms are stiff,” Cothron can be heard saying on the call, becoming increasingly emotional as he waited for emergency responders.
Police testimony and scene evidence
Clarksville Police Officer Morgan Baker, the first officer at the scene, testified that he believed Valasquez had overdosed. Baker administered Narcan while waiting for EMS and photographed the scene after Valasquez was pronounced dead.
Photos shown in court depicted Valasquez on the floor of her bedroom. In the room was also a tray containing syringes, a lighter, a spoon with burnt residue, cotton swabs and a bottle cap containing some liquid. Baker testified that “a white powdery substance in a bag” was also recovered.
Court recessed Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled to resume Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Montgomery County Courts Center.
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