MIAMI — A South Florida case tied to a fatal overdose at the 2025 Ultra Music Festival is drawing scrutiny from legal experts, as prosecutors pursue a first-degree murder charge under a state law typically associated with drug-related deaths.
The case centers on Charlene Brittany Forti, 27, of Coral Springs, who is accused of selling an MDMA pill, commonly known as “molly,” that investigators say ultimately led to the death of 24-year-old Jenniha Le, a soon-to-be nurse from Lawrenceville, Georgia, who attended last year’s festival.
“It’s a selective prosecution,” said Richard L. Cooper, Forti’s defense attorney.
Authorities said Forti is facing a capital felony charge of first-degree murder in connection with Le’s death.
Prosecutors say Le made a “personal decision” to take the drug during the festival and died the next day after an adverse reaction.
According to investigators, the pill allegedly passed through multiple people before reaching Le.
“The allegation is that my client gave pills to someone else who gave the pills to someone else. It goes to someone else and then that person died, unfortunately,” Cooper said.
The charge is rooted in a Florida statute that allows a murder charge when someone unlawfully distributes a controlled substance that is the proximate cause of a person’s death — even without intent to kill.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle addressed the law this week, describing it as “sort of like a strict liability murder.”
“You don’t have to prove that you intended that person to die when you gave them the pills,” she said. “The law is clear because you gave them an illegal substance and they died as a result of that.”
Read the provision in state law that underpins this case by clicking here.
Investigators said Carmen Lo, along with Hannah Le-Nguyen, Le’s partner, and Parkland resident An Tan Ly, all 25, are facing charges related to Le’s death.
However, the prosecution is raising broader legal questions.
“It’s not an odd thing that prosecutors would pursue the death penalty or a capital felony for somebody who did not intend to kill, but it is very rarely applied to the distribution of drugs,” said Megan Chaney, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University.
Chaney said the case may reflect an effort to send a broader warning.
“Whether they are able to convict or not, the message is sent,” she said. “I think it definitely has a chilling effect.”
She added that while the law clearly allows for the charge, it may not have been originally intended for cases like this.
“I think it’s possible that the legislature was looking at all the fentanyl cases,” Chaney said, referring to deadly overdoses linked to contaminated drugs.
Meanwhile, Cooper argues the state is overreaching and using the case to send a message ahead of major events like Ultra.
“I think that the state attorney needed someone to put this on to make essentially a PSA,” he said.
First-degree murder is a non-bondable offense, but Cooper has filed a motion seeking bond for his client, arguing the state cannot meet its burden and that the case lacks “direct, unequivocal evidence establishing guilt.”
During bond court, Cooper also questioned whether investigators can prove the specific pill allegedly linked to Forti caused Le’s death.
“It is unclear from the arrest warrant that this was the exact pill that she got from Ms. Forti,” he said.
Chaney acknowledged that argument could be significant.
“It’s a good defense,” she said, noting prosecutors must prove the drug that caused the death was the same one tied to Forti.
Meanwhile, addiction experts say the case highlights the dangers of illegal drug use.
“There’s no such thing as a safe illegal drug,” said Scott Frankel, the executive director of Recovery First Treatment Center. “You cannot take any illegal drugs. You have no idea what you are getting.”
Frankel warned that variations in how drugs are manufactured can lead to unpredictable and deadly outcomes.
“It’s a surprise attack,” he said. “Everybody’s body reacts different.”
Police said Le, a graduate of Georgia State University in Atlanta, died after being transported from the festival to a hospital. Toxicology results determined the cause of death was acute MDMA toxicity.
Cooper expressed sympathy for Le’s family while maintaining his client should not face a murder charge.
“It’s horrific,” he said. “But no amount of punishment or misdirected prosecution is going to bring that beautiful young woman back.”
Read the motion to set bond in the court filing below.
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