Starbuck Man Sentenced For Hiding Schwendemann's Body After Overdose
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Starbuck man was sentenced Thursday for hiding his friend's body in a cornfield after she died of a drug overdose last fall.
Nickolas Ryan McArdell, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of gross misdemeanor of interference of a dead body, according to the Douglas County Court Administration.
McArdell admitted to driving around with 18-year-old Laura Schwendemann on Oct. 14, 2015, while they both injected methamphetamine and smoked marijuana.
The complaint says McArdell sent Schwendemann into a panic when he began to pretend that the police were chasing them, and she soon stopped breathing.
After he could not feel a pulse on her, he decided to drive a few miles to a cornfield, where he left her body.
A farmer found Schwendemann 12 days later. An autopsy showed that she died solely from a meth overdose.
McArdell will serve one year in jail, with credit for time he has already served. He was also given a $385 fine, which he could work off through community service.
