Sauk Rapids Man Pleads Guilty in Teen Overdose Death

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- One of three people charged in the fatal drug overdose of a Sauk Rapids teenager has reached a plea deal with authorities.

Forty-eight-year-old Anthony Costello has pleaded guilty to one count of 2nd-degree manslaughter for the death of a 16-year-old boy. He was initially charged with one count of 3rd-degree murder.

Sauk Rapids Police were dispatched to the 300 block of 10th Avenue North on March 2nd, 2024 on a report of an unresponsive person.

According to charges filed in Benton County District Court, officers discovered the teenage boy lying on the floor outside a bathroom and not breathing. Officers tried life-saving efforts, but say the boy was cold to the touch and appeared to have been dead for some time.

While on the scene, authorities made contact with Costello. Court records allege Costello told police that he had previously been in a romantic relationship with the boy's mother and he and the boy had snorted cocaine prior to his death.

The charges further allege the boy had made plans with his mother, 38-year-old Crystal Swenson, and 33-year-old Fox Bellanger, to buy cocaine from them.

Costello said when the boy returned to Costello's Sauk Rapids home at around 5:30 a.m., the two snorted cocaine together.

Records show Costello found the boy at around 9:30 a.m. making gurgling noises while on the floor and was unresponsive. Costello said despite pouring water on him and trying to get him to stand up the victim wouldn't wake up so he dragged him down the stairs and left the boy there so he could go to bed.

A medical examiner determined the teen died of fentanyl toxicity and cocaine use.

Search warrants were used to access phone records among the group and authorities say they tied Swenson and Bellanger to the drug buy.

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Swenson and Bellanger are each charged with one count of 3rd-degree murder. Their cases are still making their way through the court system.

According to court documents, the plea agreement calls for a sentence of four years in prison.

Costello's sentencing date will be set at a later time.