Cedar Rapids man charged with involuntary manslaughter

Jan. 18, 2023 10:17 am

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man was arrested this week on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of supplying a woman with a combination of drugs that led to her death in September.

David Joseph Taylor, 26, brought the woman, Katelyne Marquez, into the Mercy Hiawatha Emergency Room on Sept. 8, and she was declared deceased, according to a criminal complaint.

“She was in full rigor with lividity in her abdomen indicating she had been face-down and deceased for an extended period of time prior to her arrival,” the complaint states. “The Office of the Iowa State Medical Examiner concluded that the cause of her death was as a result of acute mixed drug intoxication from methadone, methamphetamine and alcohol.”

Two days prior, on the evening of Sept. 6, Taylor had provided Marquez with methamphetamine and what he believed to be codeine. She consumed these with alcohol. The supposed codeine was actually methadone, an opiate, according to the complaint.

“The combination of methamphetamine with methadone, which is an opiate, is referred to as a ‘speed ball’ which can have more toxic effects than either drug alone,” the complaint states.

Taylor admitted he knew Marquez was affected strongly by the drugs, and another witness reported she was sweating, had pale lips and was coming in and out of consciousness, the complaint states.

Instead of taking Marquez to receive medical treatment immediately, Taylor told her to go lie down in a machine shed at 1617 Tower View Rd., in Marion.

Taylor then took more drugs and passed out himself, coming in and out of consciousness for almost a full day before he woke up and checked on Marquez again. He found her cold and stiff and took her to emergency room, but admitted he knew she was already dead, according to the complaint.

A warrant was issued for Taylor’s arrest on Jan. 9, and he was booked into the Linn County Jail on Sunday. He had his first appearance in court Monday, and is being held on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.