Waxhaw man already serving time facing charges in fatal overdose Samuel Keith Player (Source: Union County Sheriff's Department) By WBTV Web Staff | April 9, 2021 at 3:16 PM EDT - Updated April 9 at 3:16 PM WAXHAW, N.C. (WBTV) - A Waxhaw man already serving time in jail on drug charges is now facing additional charge relating to a fatal drug overdose. Samuel Keith Player, 37, has now been charged with aggravated death by distribution as well as second degree murder in the death of Thomas Lee Howell on Dec. 1, 2020. The medical examiner ruled that Howell died as a result of heroin and fentanyl toxicity after he was found unresponsive in his bedroom.