A former escort who was convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter after she fatally injected a Google exec with heroin is now wanted in connection to a second man’s death.
Alix Tichelman, 31, has been charged in Fulton County, Georgia with two counts of felony murder and single counts of distribution of heroin and distribution of oxycodone in connection to the death of her ex-boyfriend, Dean Riopelle, PEOPLE reports. After being deported to Canada last year after serving a sentence in a California jail in connection to the death of a Google executive, she is now being sought for extradition by Georgia authorities.
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While Riopelle’s September 2013 overdose death was initially ruled an accident, Tichelman was later charged with murder after authorities learned that she had supplied the drugs. However, Tichelman claims that she is not a killer.
“I’m clean and sober, and I work a normal job, 40 hours a week, and I have an amazing relationship and I’m very close with my family,” Tichelman told KSBW in Calfornia last week. “I just try to stay positive and make the right choices.”
A statement from the office of Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said the case is “still active and open” and that prosecutors “will be working with Canadian authorities” to extradite Tichelman back to the United States, where she will stand trial.
In 2015, a California judge sentenced Tichelman to five years in prison for her role in the 2013 death of former Google executive Forrest Timothy Hayes, a married father of five who worked at Google X. Tichelman had pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and administering drugs.
In November 2013, Hayes had reportedly hired Tichelman, whom authorities claimed was a prostitute, and on November 22, the two were together on Hayes’ 46-foot yacht, during which time Tichelman injected the Google X employee with heroin and left without seeking help.
“She’s, you know, really frantic on the phone. She sounded very upset. She talked about how her friends had started doing heroin and a bunch of hardcore drugs on the boat and made her uncomfortable. And that she had to leave,” Tichelman’s ex-boyfriend told 48 Hours, recounting a call Tichelman had made to him following the party on the yacht.
Hayes’ was discovered unresponsive on his yacht. Video footage showed Tichelman administering the lethal dose of heroin, leaving the yacht after Hayes fell to the floor.
Tichelman was released on March 20, 2017 after serving roughly half of her sentence. She was taken into custody by ICE officers nine days later.
