FRANKFORT, Ky. — In a case highlighting the tragic outcomes of fentanyl trafficking, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman revealed the conviction and sentencing of an 18-year-old man from Hardin County, whose drug sale resulted in the overdose death of a minor.
Aadyn Kristopher-Nelson Durbin entered a guilty plea in Hardin Circuit Court to three felony counts: second-degree manslaughter, trafficking in fentanyl, and trafficking in marijuana. Following an investigation and prosecution by the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit, Durbin received a 10-year prison sentence.
Durbin acknowledged that he knowingly sold fentanyl to the teenage victim, who passed away in December 2024. As part of his plea deal, he is prohibited from contacting the victim’s family or attending any events at Elizabethtown Independent Schools.
“Nothing will ever fill the empty seat left at this family’s kitchen table, but this conviction should send a crystal clear message: Kentucky will not tolerate this poison in our communities,” said Attorney General Coleman. “We are raising kids at a time when as little as one pill can kill.”
Fentanyl Crisis in Kentucky
Fentanyl, a man-made opioid, is 50 times more powerful than heroin and can be up to 100 times more intense than morphine. A mere two milligrams—which is less than a grain of salt—can lead to death.
In the year 2024, 1,410 individuals in Kentucky lost their lives due to overdoses, with fentanyl being a factor in more than 60% of those fatalities. Authorities throughout the Commonwealth are still focused on tracing this dangerous substance back to its origins.
“There is no margin for error,” Coleman added. “Kentucky law enforcement will trace these pills to the source to hold traffickers accountable.”
