Oklahoma Man Faces Murder Charge After Illegal Drug Death

An Oklahoma man is moving to a new jail after Carter County officials arrested him on a first-degree murder charge Friday.  

OSBI said 36-year-old Howard Timken Jr. sold methamphetamine and heroin to a woman back in May of 2017. The woman, 33-year-old Kimberly Ford, died later that day after injecting the drugs into herself. 

Ford, who was between Milo and Fox, Oklahoma at the time, complained of not feeling very well and was taken to the hospital where she died, OSBI said.

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office determined Ford's cause of death as methamphetamine toxicity.

Timken was already in custody at the Stephens County Jail for an unrelated charge, OSBI said. They said he will be moved to the Carter County Jail and will be held on a $1 million bond.     

Attorney General Mike Hunter said Timken admitted selling a gram of heroin and about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine to Ford just hours before her death.

“Drug dealers, who prey on addicts and operate illicit enterprises, are making a calculated decision, knowing their actions could result in the death of another person,” Attorney General Hunter said. 

"Charging drug dealers with first-degree murder when justified by the facts sends a message to those engaging in this criminal trade to stop or face dire consequences."

Read the affidavit of probable cause: