BEAUFORT, N.C. (WNCT) — An Atlantic Beach man pled guilty to death by distribution in the Carteret County Superior Court.
Hayden James Hunter, age 28, pleaded guilty to death by distribution of fentanyl concerning the death of 19-year-old Olivia Taylor. Taylor was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of her apartment in Morehead City on October 16, 2022. She was pronounced dead on the scene. Just one day before her death Taylor was released from a Wilmington treatment center where she completed a program for substance abuse. Investigation revealed that fentanyl toxicity is what led to her death. Police found that Taylor contacted Hunter to purchase $60 worth of fentanyl hours before her death by searching her cell phone.
Hunter received an active sentence of 58-82 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
