Man gets decades in prison for teen's fentanyl-poisoning death
Caleb Comer (Williamson County Jail)
CEDAR PARK, Texas - A Liberty Hill man was sentenced to decades in prison for the fentanyl-poisoning death of a Cedar Park teen in 2024.
Caleb Comer got 40 years in prison after he was found guilty of murder by a Williamson County jury in the death of 18-year-old Matthew Wright.
Liberty Hill man arrested for selling fentanyl-laced pills to teen who later overdosed
Cedar Park police arrested a Liberty Hill man in connection with a deadly suspected fentanyl overdose.
The backstory:
This case started in May 2024 as a welfare check by Cedar Park police officers who found Wright dead in his bedroom and signs he had overdosed.
Wright's cell phone and information from his family led police to a Cash App transaction recorded the week before he died. Investigators were able to link that account to Comer and found a history of narcotics transactions between Wright and Comer.
The investigation further revealed that Wright had negotiated purchasing counterfeit "Percs", tablets designed to mimic Percocet, but containing lethal doses of fentanyl.
Prosecutors presented evidence during Comer's trial that showed Wright had explicitly asked Comer how much he could safely consume, to which Comer advised him not to stop taking the drugs.
Wright had also previously asked Comer to stop selling to him after the drugs made him sick, but Comer continued to offer him more pills.
Comer had also previously been convicted twice on drug-related charges in Brazoria County.
Big picture view:
The Williamson County District Attorney's office says Comer's conviction marks their second successful prosecution of a fentanyl-related murder.
The first was Kreli Haynes, who was convicted of murder in April for the 2024 death of 16-year-old Zarek McMeekin of Leander.
Fentanyl-related deaths in Texas
Dig deeper:
In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 6, which means in Texas, if someone distributes or manufactures fentanyl that results in someone's death, that person can be prosecuted for murder.
The Texas Department of State Health Services also maintains a fentanyl dashboard, which shows that since the law was signed, Texas has seen a decrease in fentanyl poisoning deaths.
In 2025, Texas saw 1,202 deaths from fentanyl poisoning, which accounted for 32% of all "unintentional" drug poisoning deaths. That number dropped from 1670 or 37% in 2024 and from 2307 or 45%. The information is based on death certificate data with Texas DSHS.
The Source: Information in this report comes from the Cedar Park Police Department, the Williamson County District Attorney's office, Williamson County court records and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.