According to the Starkville Police Department, a former Mississippi State University student has been charged with four drug related felonies following the accidental overdose death of an MSU student on Feb. 3 in his apartment.
Lance A. Kennedy, 20, of #7 Dawg’s Landing, who was enrolled as a freshman kinesiology major last semester, was arrested Feb. 7 on charges of felony possession of marijuana, Xanax, heroin and cocaine. Also seized at the time of Kennedy’s arrest were scales, drug paraphernalia and $700 in cash.
He posted $100,000 bond and has been released. He is scheduled to appear in Starkville Municipal Court Thursday at 2 p.m.
When asked if Kennedy would receive further charges, SPD Chief David Lindley said the investigation is ongoing.
Teresa Veal, 20, of Madison, Miss. was found dead in the early morning hours of Feb. 4 in Kennedy’s apartment. Toxicology reports indicated high levels of heroin and cocaine in Veal’s system. Lindley said the combination is often referred to as a “speedball.”
“The stimulant (cocaine) allows you to consume more of the sedative (heroin) than you ordinarily would,” he said. “The end result is this … the stimulant will leave the system, and the heroin can shut down your body.”
Lindley said this is an extreme example of a common situation, and even though heroin is “particularly unheard of” in Starkville, the same effect can come from more common groupings. Mixing alcohol with energy drinks can produce a similar result, and he said he has seen the consequences all too often.
“People pass out at the bar, on the sidewalk, have wrecks in cars or are unable to communicate altogether. Just completely incoherent,” Lindley said.
He said that Veal’s parents, despite being devastated by the news, wanted the information surrounding the cause of her death to be made public in order to bring more attention to incidents of this nature.
Veal was a senior marketing major and a member of Pi Beta Phi. She graduated from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Ill.

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