Died in prison
Stephen Kantzer
Stephen Kantzer, 38, died at the Varner Unit, a state prison in Gould, Arkansas, in August 2018, within 24 hours of two other deaths there. The Arkansas Department of Correction said the cause awaited medical examiner confirmation and that drug-related deaths would not be surprising at the facility. A State Police investigation, reported in May 2019, attributed his death to K2, a synthetic drug.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose. The Arkansas State Police investigation, as reviewed by KATV, attributes his death to smoking the synthetic drug K2.
Reported by: Arkansas State Police (outside investigators); KATV (reporters); Arkansas Department of Correction spokesperson James DePriest (the agency that held him).