Family reaction after jury verdict in Placer fentanyl murder trial

PLACER COUNTY, Calif. – Placer County’s first fentanyl murder trial ended with a guilty verdict Tuesday.

Carson Schewe, 22, was found guilty of first-degree murder after selling Kade Webb a Percocet pill laced with fentanyl in December 2021.

It was a lengthy trial, with three days of jury deliberations and two trials, the first of which was declared unsuccessful after an independent laboratory failed to provide a report.

It was an even greater emotional burden for the Webb family. Elizabeth Dillender said she had lost not only a son, but also one of her best friends.

“When you lose a child, you can't move on. You can't move on or move forward. Every day is like Groundhog Day, and then you just get through the day and the next day is over,” Dillender said.

The Webb family is grateful that Placer County was willing to bring an unprecedented murder case for the sale of fentanyl. It is the first such jury conviction for the county.

David Tellman, assistant district attorney for Placer County, said they hope the message is clear to those seeking to sell poison in Placer County.

“It reinforces what we've been working on, which is essentially the notion that people who put profit above the lives of others are committing murder. And that's the position our office has taken, and that's a position we'll continue to take in light of the … deadly drugs that are being sold in our community,” Tellman said.

Webb's family says they know most families will never have the opportunity to see the inside of a courtroom.

“We knew this wasn't going to bring Kade back, but I think it gives all of us an opportunity to have a platform and advocate for his cause,” Dillender said.

They use this platform for “One Pill Can Kill Placer,” holding assemblies in middle and high schools and reaching 26,000 children in two years.

Kurt Webb, Kade's father, says the number of people who lose their lives to fentanyl every day continues to worry him.

“We hope that now that we have this, we can make a change so that Kade did not die in vain and we can help save communities,” Webb said.

The family wants to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl so that Indigo “Indy” Kade Webb – the two-year-old daughter Kade Webb never got to know – doesn't have to lose anyone else. The Webbs hope that no other family has to experience what they went through.

Kade is also the cousin of Logan Webb, the pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, who has also pledged his help in the fight against fentanyl.

Schewe's sentencing is scheduled for December 5.

Although Schewe was the first jury conviction for fentanyl murder in Placer County, the case is not the first fentanyl murder conviction in the county. Last summer, a man pleaded guilty to murder in a fentanyl death, becoming the first person in California to be convicted of murder in a fentanyl death.

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