Father, Son Charged in Ole Miss Student's Death in MS

Federal prosecutors have charged a father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop in connection with the death of Ole Miss student Aidan Hamilton. U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary for the Northern District of Mississippi announced Friday that a criminal complaint was filed against Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, on charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

Investigators allege the Moslehs sold illegal substances to Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado. Hamilton was found dead on campus on September 21. Investigators found "packages, some with missing tablets, of suspected kratom derivatives," according to the U.S. attorney's office. The cause of death appeared consistent with a drug overdose.

An hour after Hamilton's discovery, a second Ole Miss student, Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, was found dead in a different location, also with "packages of suspected kratom derivatives." Strang's death also appeared consistent with a drug overdose. Toxicology reports for both deaths are ongoing.

The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit tracked Hamilton's bank records, which showed purchases from Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, Mississippi. After an undercover informant bought pills advertised as 7 O Kratom pills, officers executed a search warrant on September 24 at the store. They seized over 500 units of kratom.

Mississippi investigators arrested the father and son that day, charging them with possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute. The investigation remains ongoing. No one from Express Mart #7, where Strang made purchases, had been charged as of Friday.