Toxicology reports expedited in Ole Miss student deaths
Fox News correspondent Madison Scarpino reports on the deaths of University of Mississippi students Aiden Hamilton and Robert Strang in Oxford, Mississippi. Appearing on “The Will Cain Show,” Scarpino discusses investigators’ efforts to accelerate toxicology testing as authorities work to determine what happened.
OXFORD, Miss. — Toxicology results in the suspicious deaths of two University of Mississippi students could be available as soon as next week, Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said. Separately, Oxford police have arrested two people following a raid on a tobacco store accused of selling narcotics.
The students were identified as Robert Strang, a 20-year-old junior from Atlanta, and Aidan Hamilton, an 18-year-old freshman from Colorado. Their families have asked the public for privacy and compassion while they grieve.
Authorities have not determined how either student died. Narcotics investigators are involved in both cases, and officials said Mississippi’s fentanyl-death statute could be used against anyone who unlawfully supplied the drug if toxicology testing detects fentanyl.
“Under Parker’s Law, enacted in 2022, criminal charges may be pursued when an unlawful delivery of fentanyl results in a person’s death,” Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, told News Media. “If the investigation establishes those circumstances, law enforcement will work with prosecutors to pursue the appropriate charges and hold those responsible accountable.”
Images of Aidan Hamilton, an 18-year-old University of Mississippi freshman, were posted to Facebook by his mother. Hamilton is one of two Ole Miss students who died under suspicious circumstances this week. (Facebook/ Kathie Mac Donald Hamilton)
The tobacco-shop arrests stem from a separate narcotics investigation, and authorities have not said whether the case is connected to the students’ deaths.
Police said the suspects were tied to an Oxford retail business where investigators allegedly discovered large quantities of drugs, including THC products and kratom. Although kratom is legal in many parts of the country, possession and sale are prohibited in Lafayette County.
“During the search, agents recovered more than 500 units of kratom, along with an assortment of THC cartridges, gummies, and other suspected narcotics,” police said. “Kratom has been prohibited from possession, distribution, and sale within the City of Oxford since 2019.”
The search took place at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in the 100 block of Heritage Drive in Oxford.
Oxford police identified the arrested men as Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18. Both are Oxford-area residents.
Police said the store’s owner, 40-year-old Amer Alowdi, was indicted in 2022 on narcotics-trafficking charges and left the country before facing prosecution. It was not immediately known how the business continued operating.
Tindell said Thursday that investigators have found no evidence of foul play so far, but he emphasized that the possibility has not been eliminated.
“Until the autopsy is reported, and the investigators have an opportunity to get statements and collect evidence, then that final determination will not be made until later,” he said.
Robert Strang appears in an undated family photograph. The 20-year-old University of Mississippi junior died under suspicious circumstances. (Strang family)
Officials also cautioned that it is too soon to know whether kratom or another substance played a role. Police previously reported finding packages of kratom at both locations linked to the deaths, even though the product is sold legally in many areas outside Lafayette County.
A general view of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, Mississippi, on September 24, 2026. Black ribbons hang from the porch columns in memory of fraternity member Robert Strang, a 20-year-old from Atlanta. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for News Media)
Students have also shared warnings about cychlorphine, a potent synthetic opioid they say may require multiple doses of Narcan to reverse.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the state would provide resources to speed up the toxicology work. While such testing can normally take several weeks, officials hope results in the Ole Miss cases will be ready within days.