Texas Man Pleads Guilty in Stearns County Fatal Drug Overdose

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A Texas man has pleaded guilty to a murder charge in Stearns County after another man fatally overdosed on cocaine last year.

According to the criminal complaint, 49-year-old Daniel Upshaw met the victim at a Maple Lake bar last November. Court records show the two men were both former Marines and struck up a lengthy conversation.

At the end of the night, the victim and his girlfriend returned to her St. Cloud apartment. She told investigators she went to bed, and her boyfriend said he was staying up and mentioned he might go to the casino.

At around midnight, the victim's girlfriend tried calling him but got no answer. She also noticed his truck was not in the parking lot.

The following morning, the girlfriend found the man's body lying on the garage floor, and it was cold to the touch. Investigators discovered evidence of narcotics use near the victim and on the tool bench where his phone was also located.

When authorities accessed the victim's phone, they found a text thread between the victim and a contact named Dan. The text thread discussed a drug deal between the two and included a photo of a man holding a baggie with a white powder in it. Through the text messages and video from the bar, authorities were able to identify the suspect as Upshaw.

Upshaw pleaded guilty in October to one count of 3rd-degree murder for supplying the drugs that killed the victim. He's due to be sentenced on January 8th.