A 30-year-old central Minnesota woman has been charged with murder for providing the drugs that killed her neighbor.

Kayla M. Reynolds, of Cold Spring, was charged Monday in Stearns County District Court with third-degree murder in connection with the April overdose death of Heidi A. Hiltner, 50, also of Cold Spring.

Reynolds has an Oct. 22 court hearing scheduled. Court records do not list a defense attorney, and messages were left with Reynolds seeking her response to the allegations.

According to the criminal complaint:

Reynolds contacted police on April 15 to say she hadn't seen nor heard from Hiltner for a few days. She said her neighbor wasn't answering the door to her apartment, where the television could be heard.

Building maintenance let an officer and Reynolds into Hiltner's apartment and found Hiltner dead.

Moments later, the officer spotted Reynolds going through Hiltner's purse in the bathroom. Reynolds explained that "she was helping," the complaint read. The officer then directed Reynolds to leave, and he soon found a prescription methadone bottle on the nightstand next to Hiltner's bed. The drug was prescribed to Reynolds.

An autopsy revealed methadone and amphetamine in the body of Hiltner, who died of an overdose, according to the complaint.

A court-ordered search of Hiltner's cellphone revealed text messages since January that led police to suspect that Reynolds had been supplying Hiltner with methadone and amphetamines including two days before the body was found.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482