ICE targets woman in drug death
The agency seeks to deport an escort who injected a client with a fatal dose of heroin.
An escort who injected a former Google executive with a fatal dose of heroin aboard his yacht in Santa Cruz four years ago is facing possible deportation, federal officials said Tuesday.
Alix Tichelman, 29, made national headlines in 2013 when she was arrested by police after her client, Forrest Hayes, 51, was found dead on his 50-foot yacht.
She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, destroying evidence and multiple drug and prostitution charges in 2015 and was sentenced to six years in prison. She was given credit for time served.
Jail records show she was recently released. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, she’s now in federal custody.
“Ms. Tichelman was taken into custody by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) March 29. Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Ms. Tichelman has multiple prior criminal convictions, including convictions for involuntary manslaughter and a felony drug charge. She will remain in DHS/ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the agency said in a statement.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that Tichelman had Canadian citizenship.
According to police, Hayes met Tichelman through Seekingarrangments.com. Security video from the yacht showed Tichelman give Hayes the lethal injection of heroin, then pick up her things and leave. Hayes was a former Apple, Google and Sun Microsystems engineer.