Drug Dealer Charged With Another Murder In Overdose Death

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Maplewood woman accused of selling heroin with fentanyl is now facing a fifth murder charge.

Police say 30-year-old Beverly Burrell knowingly sold the drug, and has been linked to multiple overdose deaths. She was arrested in May.

For Carla Peltier, the news that Burrell is facing a murder charge for her son's death is bittersweet.

"It's hard to believe there are people that evil in our world," Peltier said.

Her son Dustin, a highly-decorated Marine, died at the age of 31 from an overdose in April. Investigators said they linked the drugs back to Burrell.

"I just think she's cold and she's obviously calculating," Peltier said. "She has no heart."

During an interview with WCCO in October, Peltier said Dustin suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and turned to drugs for help. The latest charges against Burrell only bring to light the harsh reality that her son is gone.

"Really, that's what I feel right now is overwhelming grief at the loss of my son," she said. "It brings back and confirms everything we've been living since the day we lost him, that he's gone."

Peltier says she is also keeping the parents of other victims in her heart, hoping that they too will see justice.

"What I would like to see is for her to spend the rest of her life there, because she took so many lives. That would be justice," Peltier said.

Burrell remains in custody at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center.

She will be on trial for three of the deaths next month.