Circuit Court Judge Lee Howard handed down a 20-year sentence to Skylar O’Kelly for giving a LSD-like drug to former Mississippi State University student Parker Rodenbaugh that caused his death in 2014.
A jury found O’Kelly, 23, of Madison, guilty of second-degree murder and drug trafficking Thursday. Howard also sentenced him Friday to 10 years for the drug charge, which O’Kelly will serve concurrently with the 20-year murder sentence. He must also pay a fine of $5,000.
Sentencing came after both Cordie Rodenbaugh, the victim’s mother, and O’Kelly gave emotional impact statements.
Since the death of her son, Cordie Rodenbaugh said her family has been “torn to pieces” by grief, with some members experiencing significant health problems. She testified she spends a portion of most days away from her family, resting in her son’s bed.
“His dreams were my dreams,” she said. “There was nothing worse than knowing my son was gone. The night those police officers came … crushed our family.”
O’Kelly, choking back tears and struggling for words, turned to the Rodenbaugh family and apologized.
“He was my best friend. I’d do anything to take it back. It’s killing me that he’s not here,” he said. “I must face the consequences for what I’ve done. Parker was part of our family, too.”
Howard gave O’Kelly the minimum sentences allowed by law for both convictions and said the entire situation was a tragedy for both families.
“Every parent … lays their head on their pillow at night and prays to God they don’t get a phone call in the middle of the night, and that goes on forever. We send our kids to college … and a part of us goes with them. We pray we’ve done everything we could for 18 years … for them to make the correct choices between right and wrong,” he said from the bench. “The hard part — and I take no pleasure in it — is seeing someone like yourself in this situation.”
O’Kelly previously testified he purchased about 450 “hits” of the synthetic drug 25B-NBOMe and provided two doses to Parker Rodenbaugh, 22, at a residence on North Nash Street on Aug. 9, 2014, despite not knowing if the substance was harmful or illegal.
After taking the drug, Parker Rodenbaugh began to spasm and later collapsed. O’Kelly said a person at the apartment asked him and others to leave before calling 911.
He was pronounced dead at OCH Regional Medical Center later that night.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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