South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley
By: John Hult
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The November overdose death of a state prison inmate in Sioux Falls has drawn charges for a former Department of Corrections medical staffer and a man who’s already serving a 65-year sentence in the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
In indictments filed this week in Minnehaha County, 25-year-old medical aid Natalie Krause is accused of conspiring with 26-year-old inmate Cole Waters to distribute the synthetic drug that killed Travis Long Fox.
Long Fox overdosed on Nov. 4, Attorney General Marty Jackley said at a Friday news conference in Sioux Falls, and died Nov. 7. His is one of eight inmate overdose deaths that have occurred in 2025 — a figure higher than any year in recent memory for the Department of Corrections.
The synthetic drug involved is commonly referred to as K2, which can be soaked into pieces of paper that are then dried out for smoking.
That’s the form it took in the Long Fox overdose case, Jackley said.
“K2 wouldn’t necessarily be the drug of choice” on the streets in South Dakota, he said, but the ability to conceal it on sheets of paper has made it a popular option inside prisons and “it’s creating a public health and safety issue” in those institutions.
Seven of the eight prison overdose deaths are suspected or confirmed to be tied to K2.
“It can be difficult for corrections officials to prevent inmates from having a piece of paper,” Jackley said.
Krause and Waters face a host of felony charges relating to the alleged possession and delivery of unauthorized articles in a correctional setting and allegedly distributing a substance resulting in death. If convicted on all charges, Krause could get up to 95 years in prison. Waters, because of his previous felony conviction, could be sentenced to an additional 170 years.
Waters pleaded guilty to manslaughter for shooting and killing a 17-year-old boy in 2019 during a botched attempt to steal the victim’s marijuana.
Krause, the former medical aid, allegedly delivered the K2-laced paper to Waters, with whom she had “a personal relationship,” Jackley said.
Krause is currently in custody at the Minnehaha County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond. She’s scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Waters was given a personal recognizance bond and released back to the custody of the Department of Corrections. His next court date is set for Jan. 6.
Jackley said his office has 112 pending criminal cases tied to the Department of Corrections at the moment, ranging from drug possession and distribution to inmate assaults on other inmates or staff members. The new case is the third tied to the death of a specific inmate. Charges were filed in July and September, respectively, in earlier overdose deaths. Krause is the second former prison staff member charged.
Jackley said he has “authorized” charging decisions in one other overdose case, and said he expects to announce indictments in that case within about a month.
Comments