Fiancée of Apopka man who died of fentanyl overdose breaks silence
Fiancée of man who overdosed shares story
A man from Apopka died after taking one pill from the wrong person almost a year ago. Now, we are hearing from his devastated fiancée. She’s making it her mission to raise awareness and keep Tristan Buttrum’s memory alive. She wants the world to know this isn’t just another drug addict story, but a story about someone loved by so many — and taken from the world too soon.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Investigators said a man from Apopka died after taking one pill from the wrong person almost a year ago. Now, we are hearing from his devastated fiancée.
"We had all these dreams, we had all these aspirations, we had all these plans, and, it's just like it got cut short," says Carissa Carr.
She is learning to live her life without the love of her life, Tristan Buttrum.
"If I could explain Tristan in one word, I would definitely say: hilarious."
He was fun-loving, charismatic, and a free spirit, Carr says.
"Tristan was my person. He, unlike any other person I've met in my life, was my best friend and my lover at the same time," she said.
However, underneath that fun-loving façade, Buttrum experienced a struggle with pain caused by injury.
Carr said, "He 100% every day had a struggle to get out of bed, or to walk."
He died of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 27, on January 2. His late fiancé says he was sober for three months before he took the laced pill.
"He swore up and down he would never take a fake anything. In my heart, I truly believe that it was a mistake."
It was a mistake and a shock to everyone who loved him, she said. While he did struggle, Carr said he wanted the world to know this: "Fentanyl is not a medication, it is a poison. Addiction is a lonely road, that does not mean that they need to walk alone."
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has since arrested and charged the three people who have been traced to the sale of that deadly pill, with first-degree murder.