Aurora man charged in heroin death of girlfriend

A woman returned to a rented home in the 900 block of Grove Street in Aurora the afternoon of March 25 and was greeted by a dog, covered in blood, according to a Kane County search warrant.

She peeked inside and saw an unresponsive, 41-year-old Charles L. Minard on a couch in a pool of blood with his wrist slit — an apparent suicide attempt.

The woman called police, who searched the home and found Minard’s girlfriend, Taffie Thompson, dead in Minard’s bedroom, according to the warrant.

Minard was arrested May 24 on a charge of drug-induced homicide in the death of Thompson, 41, of the 400 block of Watson Avenue, Aurora, who police described as a recovering heroin addict.

Minard is accused of supplying the fatal heroin dose to Thompson and could be sentenced to six to 30 years in prison if convicted, according to court records.

“We were told that he (Minard) does use heroin and that she (Thompson) had used it that evening,” Aurora Police Sgt. Matt Thomas said. “There’s some dispute between (who did) the actual physical injection, but she did use it that evening.”

On March 25, Minard was taken to Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora where he was hospitalized for a couple days, Thomas said.

According to the search warrant, police found marijuana, foil containing an off-white powder substance, syringes and spoons at the home. Thomas said there is no evidence Minard was dealing heroin.

Thompson, at the time, was staying at a women’s shelter and was in a rehab program, police said. According to court records, she was on probation for a felony forgery offense in Aurora in June 2012 that also landed her in jail for 101 days before she pleaded guilty.

Minard was being held on $300,000 bail, and his next court date is Tuesday.