Brooke Trask

A 27-year-old Cody woman walked into the Cody Law Enforcement Center on Monday and announced that she wanted to turn herself in.

Court records say authorities had been investigating Brooke D. Trask in connection with a fatal drug overdose back in 2024 — suspecting Trask provided drugs to 39-year-old Nathan Soderberg and then left him while he was dead or dying — but had yet to file any charges.

That changed Monday, after Trask reportedly volunteered to investigators that she wanted to “take accountability for my actions.” 

“I know I neglected someone and I definitely deserve punishment,” she reportedly told a state agent during an interview.

Trask, who’s also known as Brooke Messick, was arrested and charged with felony counts of manslaughter and delivery of methadone, a synthetic opioid.

At a Wednesday court hearing, Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Marina Tucker said the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation determined the methadone that ultimately led to Soderberg’s death had been provided by Trask. The manslaughter charge alleges that Trask unlawfully killed Soderberg in August 2024 “involuntarily, but recklessly.”

In a Monday interview with a DCI agent, Trask reportedly said she was unable to rouse Soderberg on the morning of Aug. 14, 2024, after they’d been using opioids. 

“She advised that she was concerned but thought that he was in a deep sleep,” DCI Special Agent John McCloud wrote in an affidavit, and Trask left him at his home.

Tucker said that Soderberg’s body wasn’t found for another week, despite evidence showing Trask was either aware of his death or suspected he had passed. At Wednesday’s hearing in Park County Circuit Court, the prosecutor asked for bail to be set at $50,000, cash only, on the “very serious charges.”

For her part, Trask said she didn’t think bond needed to be set that high.

“I don’t think manslaughter would be the correct term for it,” she said.

Trask added that, “he was alive when I left,” before Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah cut her off and reminded her of her right to remain silent.

“These are serious charges, and it [your comments] will be taken out of context; it will be used against you if there’s a trial,” Darrah said, “and you’re going to look back on this and wish you hadn’t talked about it.”

The judge subsequently adopted Tucker’s recommendation and set bail at $50,000 cash.

Narcan wasn’t used

Charging documents say Soderberg officially died from “mixed illicit drug toxicity: methadone and methamphetamine.”

As DCI agents investigated the death, a couple people confidentially reported that Trask had told them she’d used methadone with Soderberg and — even before his body was found — had expressed worries that he had fatally overdosed.

When agents interviewed Trask the fall of 2024, she denied ever giving Soderberg methadone. She reportedly told DCI Special Agent John McCloud that she’d been worried about Soderberg on Aug. 14, 2024, because he was “not responding in full sentences” and didn’t walk her to the door. Still, Trask reportedly said the man was responsive at the time she left.

However, the affidavit indicates Trask’s account was undercut by a subsequent search of her phone.

For one thing, McCloud said they found multiple messages in which she appeared to be attempting to arrange drug transactions with other people in Park County, including offering up methadone.

Additionally, agents found a message that Trask appeared to have sent around the time she left Soderberg’s house. In the message, which was reportedly sent to Soderberg’s SnapChat account, Trask wrote that, “I tried to wake you up and let you know that I had to head out but you wouldn’t wake up lmaaoooo but don’t worry you were snoring and breathing so I didn’t narcan you :)”

A loud snoring-type sound is a common sign of an opioid overdose, along with unresponsiveness. Based on the complete lack of activity logged on Soderberg’s phone on Aug. 14 — and his failure to turn off an 8 a.m. phone alarm — Agent McCloud said it appeared Soderberg was “already deceased or incapacitated” by that time.

Opioid overdoses can be quickly reversed by the application of Narcan, a branded form of naloxone and that was reportedly available at the house. 

Trask reportedly indicated to others that she thought the Narcan could hurt Soderberg if he didn’t need it. While the medication can sometimes trigger uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, “the risk of death for someone overdosing on opioids is worse than the risk of having a bad reaction to naloxone,” explains the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The institute and other public health officials advise people to administer Narcan if they suspect an overdose.

Seeking accountability

Although no charges were filed in 2024 or 2025, DCI’s case remained active. Then, around 11:30 a.m. Monday, Trask said she wanted to turn herself in.

In a subsequent interview with DCI, Trask reportedly said she wanted to “take accountability” for her actions, and explained that “she had not felt like a good person since the death of Soderberg,” McCloud wrote.

She said she’d been high on drugs at the time and couldn’t remember all the details, the affidavit says. However, Trask reportedly admitted to giving Soderberg a small dose of methadone and said she left the house after repeatedly being unable to wake him up on Aug. 14, 2024.

“I was distraught. I did not know what to do,” Trask reportedly told the agent.

The affidavit says she also told DCI she’d cleaned up the signs of opiate use before leaving the residence; when DCI searched the home roughly a week later, they only found signs of meth use.

After Soderberg later failed to respond to later messages, Trask reportedly said she borrowed a family member’s car and drove by his home. She said a light was on, which led her to believe Soderberg was alive.

“When asked why she would need to drive another vehicle, Messick [Trask] had no answer,” McCloud wrote.

When the agent later pressed Trask on why she was “distraught” about leaving the house if there was nothing wrong with Soderberg, she invoked her right to an attorney, the affidavit says, and she was booked into the detention center.

Trask remained in custody on Wednesday afternoon, with a preliminary hearing tentatively set for June 4.