by April Scheinoha
Reporter
A Thief River Falls man has been charged with murder after he allegedly distributed fentanyl to a Thief River Falls woman, causing her death in November.
Isaac Victor Kalinoski, 34, has been charged with felony third degree murder and felony third degree controlled substance crime – sale. The complaint was filed Tuesday, Jan. 30, and Kalinoski was arrested that afternoon on a warrant.
The charges stemmed from the Nov. 28 death of Hailey Ann Czapiewski, 28. An autopsy report found she had died from fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity. The complaint indicated there was no THC in her system. THC is an ingredient in marijuana. Kalinoski allegedly told investigators that he had sold marijuana, not fentanyl, to Czapiewski.
Earlier that day, at about 4:44 p.m., a man reported there was a possible overdose at Rose Garden Apartments, 711 State Ave. N. #102. A police officer and a sheriff’s deputy arrived to find Czapiewski lying on a bedroom floor. She was cold to the touch. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful, and Czapiewski was pronounced dead at 5:38 p.m. at Sanford Medical Center in Thief River Falls.
The caller and another man, who is a grandfather of Czapiewski’s children, had gone to the apartment to grab some dog food belonging to a third man. The dog owner said he had gotten into an argument with Czapiewski and she had kicked him out of the apartment.
The grandfather tried the doorknob, finding the door unlocked. The men soon saw Czapiewski lying on the bedroom floor. Her 2-year-old daughter was sleeping on the floor beside her. They were unable to find Narcan in the apartment, and one of them called 911.
The dog owner allegedly said he saw Kalinoski selling Czapiewski a blue pill believed to be fentanyl around 1:30 p.m. the day of her death. He said Czapiewski paid $25 to Kalinoski via Cash App. He told authorities that Kalinoski was Czapiewski’s only known supplier.
The man said he then went to Northdale Square, two friends’ houses and a laundromat. After Czapiewski had been found dead, law enforcement picked him at the laundromat. He said he had been there for about two hours.
The Thief River Falls police investigator later reviewed surveillance footage from Northdale Square, observing the man in the store at about 1:25 p.m. Nov. 28.
The dog owner and the grandfather communicated via Facebook Messenger regarding the dog food. That conversation was later photographed by a Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force officer. The grandfather said Czapiewski had kicked the man out of the apartment. He said neither he nor the 911 caller moved any drug paraphernalia.
A search warrant was soon executed for Czapiewski’s apartment. Law enforcement confiscated two phones. They also found burnt tinfoil with a brown residue and a clear, homemade straw with residue. Both were found on a shelf in Czapiewski’s bedroom closet. The PTPDTF officer tested the residue located on the burnt tinfoil. It tested positive for fentanyl.
Next to Czapiewski’s bathroom garbage can was a small ripped baggie with residue. The residue had a presumptive positive result for meth.
Since the man had identified Kalinoski as the supplier, law enforcement stopped Kalinoski’s vehicle later that evening in Thief River Falls. He was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired.
A search warrant was soon signed for Czapiewski’s phone. The police investigator allegedly observed Facebook Messenger messages between Kalinoski and Czapiewski from Nov. 27 and 28. At 2:06 a.m. Nov. 27, she asked him if it was as strong as last time since she could barely function afterward and it lasted three days. Kalinoski told her “not quite.” She asked when he would arrive since she had locked the door because she was angry at the dog owner. At 11:33 a.m., he typed that he was on his way.
The following day, the two of them communicated again via Facebook Messenger. At 12:09 a.m. Nov. 28, Kalinoski allegedly said he had gotten “new ones.” About 13 hours later, at 1:46 p.m., he typed he was coming to her apartment after they determined transportation. She replied to him at about 2:30 p.m., signifying she saw the message and was fine with him coming over.
Cash App notifications indicated Czapiewski had paid $25 to Kalinoski at 2:33 p.m. Nov. 28 and $30 six days earlier. Law enforcement also saw a notification regarding a Messenger Audio phone call between her and the dog owner at 12:42 p.m. Nov. 28.
Law enforcement obtained subpoenas for Czapiewski’s Venmo and Cash App accounts. They learned Kalinoski’s Venmo account was linked to the phone seized the night of his traffic stop. At that time, he allegedly said he had just gotten the phone and hadn’t yet set it up.
The day after Czapiewski’s death, a search warrant was executed at Kalinoski’s home, 1404 Birch Lane Dr. While executing the search warrant, law enforcement determined Kalinoski stays in the basement with his kids. A Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force officer allegedly found drug paraphernalia tucked in the basement ceiling rafters. The drug paraphernalia included some tinfoil with a partial blue pill that tested positive for fentanyl. He didn’t find any marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia.
Kalinoski allegedly told authorities Czapiewski bought a gram of marijuana from him for $20 through Venmo. The dog owner was also home at the time. Kalinoski said the other man had a “bunch of drugs,” but Kalinoski said he had never saw the drugs and he didn’t know what drugs the other man possessed. Kalinoski said Czapiewski and the man were high. He said he saw meth pipes and foil lying around in the apartment. Kalinoski believed he was at the apartment for about 30 seconds. Kalinoski said a woman had gone with him to the apartment, but she remained in the vehicle.
After being informed there was a search warrant for his phone, Kalinoski unlocked his phone for the sheriff’s investigator. It appeared the phone had been factory reset.
When asked, Kalinoski allegedly said he had last used fentanyl months earlier and he wasn’t under the influence of any drugs at the time of the interview. The sheriff’s investigator asked if he would take a urinalysis test, but Kalinoski said he thought the urinalysis results would be used against him in his DWI case. Even though he was told the results wouldn’t be used in that case, Kalinoski said he would have to think about it. It was unclear from the complaint whether Kalinoski ever agreed to a urinalysis test.
On Dec. 2, Kalinoski provided another statement to authorities. He allegedly suggested that Czapiewski had intravenously used drugs. Kalinoski said two people – the dog owner and another man – could have injected Czapiewski. Kalinoski said he believed the dog owner injected Czapiewski, became scared after realizing she was dead, and then left. He also said he believed the dog owner cleaned up the scene before leaving. Kalinoski said it wasn’t possible for the dog owner to leave the apartment before him.
Kalinoski reiterated that he sold marijuana to Czapiewski. He said he thought it was weird that authorities had found a blue pill at his house. Kalinoski noted that the dog owner uses M30 pills.
Regarding his phone, Kalinoski admitted factory resetting the phone. He said he had earlier tried signing into the phone, which he had only owned for about a day.
The sheriff’s investigator allegedly located transactions between Kalinoski and another woman. Those transactions occurred Nov. 23 with two declined and one $8 transaction approved. All of the transactions were from the woman to Kalinoski.
The woman agreed to be interviewed Dec. 11 in the presence of her probation officer. She allegedly said Kalinoski had asked her for money to obtain some M30 pills since he didn’t have enough money. She believed he was getting the pills in Thief River Falls or Fargo, N.D. They communicated via Snapchat, but she said the Snapchats were already gone. The woman said she didn’t know if Kalinoski ever obtained any M30 pills, but he hadn’t returned the money.
The woman said she messaged Kalinoski after he had been released following his DWI arrest and asked how he was doing. She said he responded, “Dodging murder charges.”
On Dec. 26, the sheriff’s investigator received the results of a subpoena for Kalinoski’s Google account. He observed messages between the woman and Kalinoski from Nov. 28, the same day that Czapiewski died. The woman messaged Kalinoski, saying she wanted 1/4 and some foil. She also indicated she had $20.
The woman agreed to be interviewed again Jan. 16. She allegedly said she had purchased fentanyl from Kalinoski in the past and it was common for her to message him when she sought pills. She said he sometimes divided the pills, and she was referring to a quarter of a pill in the message. The woman said she didn’t provide money to him and they never met up after that conversation.