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Man charged with providing drug that caused date’s overdose

ST. PAUL (AP) — A man is charged in Ramsey County with murder and manslaughter after a woman he met on a dating app overdosed on a drug he gave her, according to authorities.

The Ramsey County medical examiner determined 43-year-old Thea Renae Toles died of toxicity caused by a narcotic commonly known as a “date rape” drug.

Police responded to Edward Zappa’s Mounds View home on Nov. 29 after he called 911 to report that the woman wasn’t breathing, according to a criminal complaint. Toles was pronounced dead at the scene.

Zappa, who said he met Toles on Tinder, told officers that the two had spent the night together and that he wasn’t aware of any drugs that she may have taken, the complaint said.

But, investigators say they found texts between Zappa and others indicating that Zappa used the drug and provided it to others, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Zappa’s criminal record includes several felonies, including convictions for first and second-degree burglary, domestic assault involving strangulation and second-degree assault.

He was on probation at the time of the incident, authorities say.

Zappa’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 25.

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