Last December, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies and medical personnel responded to an emergency call in Randle.
Two men — a father and son — were unconscious.
When deputies arrived, the first responders found the father lying on the ground outside of a travel trailer. They found his son lying dead just inside the door.
Last week, prosecutors charged Ryan W. Osborne, 59, with controlled substance homicide, alleging he had given his son, Jesse D. Osborne, a lethal dose of fentanyl and cocaine.
Osborne was arrested July 16 and made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court the next day. A judge kept bail at $100,000 cash or bond, the same amount listed in Osborne’s arrest warrant.
Osborne faces one count of controlled substances homicide, two counts of possession with intent to deliver and three counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Each charge is considered a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
A probable cause affidavit from the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office details the months-long investigation that led to Osborne’s arrest.
According to the female witness who reported the incident, Jesse Osborne, 34, had visited his father’s trailer on Dec. 27, 2025. The woman, who lived in a house on the property, said she’d had drinks with Ryan Osborne after returning home from work. She said she last saw the two men around 11 p.m., but believed they had continued drinking into the night.
The woman said she didn’t hear anyone else at the property that night. When she went outside in the morning, she saw Ryan Osborne lying on the ground.
“Ryan was not talking and was kicking his legs like he was trying to get up,” the affidavit said.
She and another woman who lived in the house opened the trailer door and saw Jesse Osborne lying on the floor. In their words, he was “gone.” The first witness called 911.
A detective at the scene saw no obvious signs of injury to Jesse Osborne, other than a yellow, brownish foam around his mouth and nostrils. The detective noted three firearms inside the trailer.
The second witness told the detective she hadn’t visited with Ryan Osborne and Jesse Osborne the night before, but said the two men had a good relationship.
The detective spoke to hospital staff at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, where Ryan Osborne was being held. Preliminary tests showed cocaine and marijuana in his system.
As the coroner arrived to remove Jesse Osborne’s body from the scene, the detective searched through a coat that was underneath the man's body. He found two small bags containing a white powdery substance, and a bank card belonging to Ryan Osborne.
In subsequent days, the detective spoke with family members of Ryan Osborne and Jesse Osborne. Ryan Osborne, still in the intensive care unit at St. Peter Hospital, allegedly refused to speak to detectives or sign a medical release of information.
According to the affidavit, on Jan. 1, Ryan Osborne called the detective and left a message. The detective called back on Jan. 2. During the phone call, Osborne allegedly admitted to consuming cocaine with his son, and said he believed the substance had come from one of the bags in his coat pocket.
Osborne allegedly told the detective the bags should be “different,” and asked about toxicology reports. The detective said those wouldn’t be ready for several weeks.
The detective asked if the substances contained fentanyl. Osborne allegedly said he didn’t know, but wanted to find out, as the nurses had told him they’d found fentanyl in his system.
Osborne again refused to sign a medical release.
That same day, the detective spoke with another family member whom Osborne had called after he’d been released from the hospital.
According to the affidavit, the woman reported that Osborne had told her “it was all his fault” and said he “must have handed (Jesse) the wrong bag.”
The wrong bag, Osborne allegedly told her, contained fentanyl.
Osborne allegedly told detectives a different story, and at one point gave a written statement saying he believed he and his son had been given a piece of banana bread “laced with fentanyl,” according to the affidavit.
On Jan. 9, despite insisting he’d only given his son cocaine, Osborne allegedly confirmed one of the bags in his coat pocket contained cocaine, and the other contained fentanyl.
He said the guns belonged to Jesse Osborne, and refused to share his phone’s password.
On Feb. 11, detectives received the final autopsy report on Jesse Osborne, which reportedly listed his cause of death as acute drug intoxication from cocaine and fentanyl.
Prosecutors ultimately filed charges against Ryan Osborne after the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory confirmed that the two bags found in Osborne’s coat pocket contained 1.59 grams of cocaine and 2.17 grams of fentanyl, according to the affidavit.
Osborne is scheduled for an arraignment on Thursday.
