4-Year Sentence For Overdose Death Of Arvada Woman

GOLDEN, CO – A man who drove away while his female friend gasped for air in the fatal throes of a drug overdose was sentenced in Jefferson County to four years in prison Wednesday.

William Nathan Hale, 37, of Wauneta, Nebraska, pleaded guilty on May 14 to reckless manslaughter and supplying the methamphetamine that killed a young mother of two, Natasha Rowley, 25, in Arvada, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors said on June 2, 2017 Hale drove five hours from his home in Nebraska, to Natasha’s home in Arvada, to help her move. He brought 14 grams of methamphetamine with him. Hale and Natasha used methamphetamine together for several hours that night, police said.

In the early morning hours, Natasha began to "exhibit dangerous symptoms" from the meth she had consumed, police said. Prosecutors said she was in medical distress for three hours and Hale did nothing. At 7:30 a.m. the next day, Hale gathered his things and left the house, while Natasha was "in the throes of a fatal overdose, moaning and gasping for air," the District Attorney's office said.

Police said Hale made no attempt to help her or call for medical assistance. He told police that “he panicked and left,” even though he admitted Natasha was “in bad shape.”

Hale was arrested in Nebraska in December, 2017.

Natasha Rowley was born in Greeley and was mother to two young children, according to her obituary. Natasha worked in retail sales and enjoyed writing poetry and drawing.

“This was a heartless act. It is not as if Mr. Hale wasn’t aware of what was happening. She was clearly dying of a drug overdose,” said First Judicial District Attorney Pete Weir in a statement. “If he had contacted emergency responders, Natasha might be alive today.”

Image: William Nathan Hale via Jefferson County District Attorney's Office

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