My name is Mareka Cole. My husband and I are the court-appointed conservators of Marek Cole, (who had autism). His date of birth is 12/13/1995.

My son died on Friday, 11/26/2021 (the day after Thanksgiving) of Carfentanil poisoning (in a large quantity) on 11/26/2021. My son has Asperger’s (which is a form of autism) and was in behavioral therapy at the time of his death. He trusted people and would blurt or say inappropriate things because he can’t help it. It’s part of his autistic traits. He craved to have friends. He would give away things just to KEEP a friend.

Although he was 25 years old at the time of his death, he didn’t go many places, he didn’t drive, nor did he have many friends. He has 3 friends because he doesn’t approach new people or stop anywhere to say hello (like you and I might).

I’ve been in every single therapy session with Marek and his psychiatrist said he is ‘complicated BUT concrete’. This means he doesn’t deviate from what’s ingrained in his mind, his schedule or how he does things. He is ROUTINE.

Days leading to his death: 
On 11/23/ 2021 My husband and I went to the store. Marek called us at approximately 5:00 p.m. to tell us that he was scared to death and that someone was trying to kill him. Marek said he was going to die. He didn’t say how he thought he was going to die, but we left our grocery basket in the grocery aisle and hurried back. We found out later that he thought someone was going to shoot him. He told me and texted me that he was going to die.

When I got home, Sac PD officers were in my yard and they said a male called and said someone was going to kill him. The police couldn’t get anyone to answer the door. The police thought this behavior had to do with his autistic condition, but I let them know, he’s pretty ‘concrete’ and would never say ‘someone is going to kill me’ unless someone told him those exact words. I told the police that someone had to have threatened or scared him in order for him to speak those words. The police felt my husband and I had the situation under control and went away.

I went inside the house and my son had so much anxiety that I didn’t want to bring it up that night to ask him what happened. We had no idea he was going to die within a 3 day period. He died on 11/26/2021.

Days after Marek’s death:
On 11/29/2021, I contacted the Sacramento police because it kept bothering me that they never came out to process his room, never asked any question or anything. I spoke to the SACPD Homicide Division incessantly.  I told him that it bothers me that they don’t seem to be interested if in case there may be foul play involved in Marek’s death. I told the detectives from the beginning that I thought it might be homicide, and my words were ignored. At that time, I didn’t know what Carfentanil was. When I heard that it was 100x more potent than Fentanyl, I was floored! I was told they would ultimately rule on the side of ‘overdose’, and to expect it. This was told to me before the Coroner’s report came back to us. Marek didn’t deserve to die. Marek had no idea what he was given to take home to ingest.

More needs to be done to protect vulnerable victims to this increasingly deadly poison. Dealers know what they’re dealing and they’re putting profit before lives. All deaths are worthy of an investigation and the stigma regarding drug addiction needs to change. If any of the investigators would have checked Marek’s phone, there would be no doubt that there are people out there that needs to answer to his death.