Man sentenced for negligently causing Cedar City woman's death by selling her drugs
by Emily Ashcraft ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Mark Santanello was ordered to spend one year in jail and three years on probation for selling drugs leading to a woman's death.
- He pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, under a plea deal that reduced the charge from manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
CEDAR CITY — A man who admitted to negligently causing a woman's death when selling her drugs will be spending more time in jail before beginning probation.
Mark Edward Santanello, 44, was sentenced on Sept. 9 to one to 15 years in prison for distribution of a controlled substance, a second-degree felony, and one year in jail for negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor.
Fifth District Judge Ryan Christiansen suspended both of those sentences, and instead ordered Santanello to spend a year in jail, with credit for the time he already served, and spend three years on probation. The probation terms include not consuming or possessing alcohol and completing a substance abuse evaluation.
On July 25, 2024, Cedar City police were asked to do a welfare check on 51-year-old Kim Marie Lyons after several packages were not brought inside her apartment. They found her deceased with drug paraphernalia and Narcan, an opioid overdose treatment, nearby.
Investigators determined Lyons likely died a week earlier and they found fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs in her system. There were messages between her and Santanello where she asked for "energy," which charging documents say is a word used for meth.
When asked in messages if they were "regular or cartel," Santanello told Lyons that the drugs were "cartel ones" and that he wanted to be around with Narcan when she tried the drugs. On July 17, 2024, he said he would give her "a big chunk of energy" for $40, and their texts ended shortly after that.
Santanello pleaded guilty to the charges on July 29, 2026, as part of a plea deal that reduced his charge from second-degree felony manslaughter to a misdemeanor.
The man's plea agreement said his attorney and prosecutors would recommend that he serve one year in jail, which the judge later decided to follow.
Santanello has been in the Iron County Jail since a judge ruled he would not be allowed out on bail at his initial appearance on Jan. 9.
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