Two Charged in Fentanyl Overdose Death of Northern Virginia Teen

Bessy Jimenez Mejia and Liam Conaway face charges for distributing fentanyl that killed 18-year-old Cayden Foster.Photo byJamie TayloronUnsplash

Bessy Jimenez Mejia and Liam Conaway have been criminally charged in connection with distributing the fatal dose of fentanyl that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Cayden David Foster, a Centreville high school student, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia announced today.

In separate court proceedings, Mejia, 26, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, was indicted on August 28, 2024, for distributing fentanyl resulting in Foster's death, the department stated.

The following day, Conaway, 22, also of Harrisonburg, pled guilty to distributing fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Court documents reveal that in January 2023, Foster, a high school senior in Northern Virginia, contacted Conaway, then a student at James Madison University, to purchase fentanyl pills.

Conaway and Foster had previously used pills together during Conaway’s recent winter break, a risky relationship that escalated into a fatal encounter, the department stated.

On January 27, 2023, Foster transferred $105 to Conaway via Venmo to pay for approximately ten counterfeit pills from Mejia. The pills were made to resemble 30 mg Percocet but were laced with fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Two days later, a friend delivered three of these pills to Foster in Centreville.

On January 30, 2023, Foster ingested part of one of the counterfeit pills and died later that night from fentanyl poisoning. First responders arrived the following morning and pronounced him dead at the scene, according to the department.

If convicted, Mejia faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while Conaway also faces severe penalties, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.