Naperville man charged with drug induced homicide in death of Austin Bank

AURORA, Ill. - Police in suburban Chicago have arrested a man for his role in a drug induced homicide.

The Aurora Police Department says 25-year-old Samuel Nesnidal provided the drugs resulting in the death of 24-year-old Austin Bank.

"AJ was extraordinary, a loving soul and touched so many lives," said Austin's mother, Wendy Bank.

She says her son was athletic and funny, but was struggling with depression, had lost his job and broke his ankle. In October 2020, inside his Aurora home, he overdosed.

"We treat it as a death investigation – what happened?" said Aurora Police Officer David Guevara. "We are going to look at the evidence on scene and collect everything we can."

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Officers have been working hard to present a case to the state’s attorney for a charge in the 2020 case.

Nesnidal of Naperville is now facing a charge of felony drug induced homicide. Aurora police say they have enough evidence to prove he provided a deadly drug that led to the death of Bank.

Autopsy results show Bank’s cause of death was a combined fentanyl and ketamine intoxication.

FAMILIES OF VICTIMS WHO DIED FROM DRUG OVERDOSES PUSH FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST DEALERS

Aurora police say it took two years to secure a charge because lab and toxicology reports take time, as does evidence collection.

"In some cases we may not even have access to the phone. We have to go through search warrants, gathering that data from the phone, extracting it. And then also we have to send those drugs to the crime lab and the crime lab has to send us back those results and that's probably the most lengthiest process. There's been times where it takes over a year," said Officer Guevara who adds they investigate every overdose to hold the dealers accountable.

Police say text messages show a potential drug transaction between the victim and suspect. Detectives say they learned Nesnidal provided Bank with two grams of "k," a common street name for ketamine, which is commonly used as an anesthetic.

"From the very beginning, they treated AJ's case as a homicide," said Wendy Bank. "I can't be more thankful to the Aurora Police Department for ensuring that justice is served here."

Bank is now part of an organization that helps raise money for funeral expenses for other families. You can find more information on familiesfightingfentanyl.org.

Nesnidal is due back in court next month.