On the evening of March 28, 2016, Sean Michael Heywood, a 33-year-old male, made arrangements to purchase half a gram of heroin for $75 from Glenda Aldape. Heywood, who was residing with his parents and grandmother in Memphis, Tennessee, informed his father around 10 p.m. that he was going to a nearby Huey's restaurant for a beer. Surveillance footage from the restaurant confirmed Heywood's arrival shortly after 10 p.m., where he had a single beer and was seen making at least two phone calls.
Aldape had texted Heywood to inform him that a man named 'Mitch' would be delivering the heroin. This individual was later identified as 38-year-old David Mitchell Murray. After a short time at the restaurant, Heywood left and got into a car with Murray, who sold him the heroin and then drove him back to his home.
Tragically, at approximately 12:30 a.m. on March 29, 2016, Sean Heywood's father found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor. Emergency personnel were called to the scene and pronounced him dead at 1:02 a.m. An autopsy later confirmed that the cause of death was a lethal dose of heroin. Law enforcement officials found a plastic bag of heroin in his pocket, a syringe, a spoon, and his cell phone at the scene.
The investigation into Heywood's death led police to his cell phone records, which revealed his communication with Glenda Aldape. In a strategic move, detectives used Heywood's phone to set up another heroin purchase from Aldape at the same Huey's restaurant the following day. When Aldape arrived to make the sale, she was arrested by waiting officers. At the time of her arrest, she was in possession of methamphetamine and heroin packaged in the same manner as the heroin found on Heywood.
Both David Mitchell Murray and Glenda Aldape were indicted in connection with Sean Heywood's death. Murray pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin resulting in death. Aldape, then 42, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin resulting in death and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Both faced a minimum of 20 years to life in prison for their roles in the fatal drug transaction.
