Man facing murder charges following Independence teen’s fatal overdose in 2023
An Independence man is facing charges of second-degree murder, accused of selling narcotics to a teenage girl, resulting in her death.
Blake Sajdak, 22, faces one count each of second-degree murder during perpetration/attempted perpetration/flight from perpetration of a felony if a person dies and delivery of a controlled substance to a person less than 17-years-old, according to a Jackson County complaint.
Officers with the Independence Police Department were dispatched to an address in Independence on Jan. 10, 2023, on reports of a juvenile medical call, according to a probable cause statement in support of Sajdak’s arrest.
Officers were directed to the basement, where they found a teenage girl on a bed, according to a press release from Jackson County Prosecutor’s office director of communications, Jazzlyn Johnson. A cut straw was located near her.
The girl was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to the probable cause statement.
An autopsy report detailed in the probable cause statement from the Jackson County Medical Examiner lists the teenager’s cause of death as “acute fentanyl intoxication with the manner of death being accidental.”
In a search of the girl’s cellphone, officers located messages with Sajdak, who was 19-years-old at the time, that “clearly” indicated drug transactions, according to the probable cause statement.
Based on messages between the pair, officers believe Sajdak delivered narcotics to the girl from Jan. 5-9 in 2023.
The teenager made “several payments” to Sajdak using Apple Cash during that time frame, according to the probable cause statement.
In a Snapchat message thread with the victim from Jan. 9, Sajdak stated, “Yea these ain’t the regular ones these are stronger and these are still a deal for $30,” according to the statement.
In an interview with officers, Sajdak admitted to selling re-pressed fentanyl pills to the girl on Jan. 9, 2023, at around 9:30 or 10 p.m., according to the probable cause statement.
He reportedly told officers the pills he gave the teenager were “often mixed with fentanyl,” according to the probable cause statement.
Sajdak is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a 10% $200,000 bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing. He is set to appear for a bond review hearing on Oct. 29.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 6:48 PM.
