Man charged with murder in fentanyl-related death in South Austin

Rodney Rawlings, 44

A man was arrested and charged with murder in connection to a fentanyl-related death in South Austin.

This is being investigated as Austin's 56th homicide of the year.

Austin's 56th murder investigation

The backstory:

Police said on June 3, around 5:55 p.m., officers responded to a check welfare call in the 6600 block of Willow Way. The caller said her brother appeared to be dead and wouldn't wake up.

When officers arrived, firefighters were on the scene attempting life-saving measures on the victim. The victim, Diego Rocha, was later pronounced dead.

An autopsy was conducted on Rocha and showed his cause of death to be "toxic effects of fentanyl and alprazolam."

An investigation later revealed that 44-year-old Rodney Rawlings provided drugs to Rocha which resulted in his death. 

Rawlings was arrested and charged with murder.

What you can do:

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Austin Police at 512-974-TIPS. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.

The Source: Information from an Austin Police Department press release on Sept. 10

South AustinCrime and Public Safety