Woman charged with murder in Ultra music fest overdose death gets $250K bond

A woman facing a murder charge in the drug overdose death of a woman visiting Miami for last year’s Ultra Music Festival has been granted bond.

A judge granted 27-year-old Charlene Forti a $250,000 bond with house arrest at a hearing Wednesday.

If she posts bond, she’ll be on total lockdown with a GPS monitor, won’t be allowed to leave her home and must surrender her passport.

Prosecutors had been seeking to have Forti held without bond while she awaits trial but Judge Ellen Sue Venzer questioned them about why they waited a year to file charges. 

“If she were a danger to the community as you say she is, why wasn’t she picked up?” asked Venzer.

Prosecutors stated there was a delay in obtaining some text messages that they said are key evidence in the case.

In addition to the murder charge, Forti is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful use of a two-way communications device in the death of 24-year-old Jenniha T. Le, who collapsed after taking MDMA, also known as Ecstasy or Molly, while attending the festival at Bayfront Park last year, authorities said.

Forti, of Coral Springs, is accused of selling the pill to Le’s partner, 25-year-old Hannah Le-Nguyen.

Le and Le-Nguyen had traveled to Miami from Georgia for the festival, and Forti allegedly gave the pill to 26-year-old An Tan Ly, who is accused of delivering it to Le-Nguyen, officials said.

A fourth person who is accused of introducing Le-Nguyen and Forti, Carmen Lo, is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Le-Nguyen and Ly are charged with possession of a controlled substance but records showed both were given plea deals by prosecutors earlier this month.

The records showed both will receive 5 years of probation as part of the plea deals.

Forti’s attorney, Richard Cooper, said the deals were done so they would testify against his client.

“The allegation is that my client gave pills to someone else who gave the pills to someone else, who gave the pills to someone else, and then that person died unfortunately,” Cooper said. “Under this law, which is preposterous, but under this law every single one of those people is equally as culpable as my client is alleged to be, and yet those guys got sweetheart deals, they’re out, they’re with their families and my client, a 27-year-old with zero criminal history, is in custody.”