Flesh-eating ‘zombie drug’ killed our brother – he was first Brit to die & didn’t know what it was…keep yourself safe
THE heartbroken family of the first Brit to die from a flesh-eating drug say he died amid his attempts to get clean.
Karl Warburton was just 43 when he was found dead at his home in Solihull, West Midlands after using a cocktail of drugs.
One of the substances running through his veins as he took his final breaths was what’s been labelled the ‘zombie drug’ - which has been ripping through America and killing hundreds of thousands.
Karl’s death in May 2022 came as a shock to his sister Sadie, brother-in-law Chris and their two children - despite him being a long-time drug user.
They say he would have never intentionally taken xylazine - which has become known as tranq dope - and say he got “unlucky”.
Xylazine has been dubbed a zombie drug as it eats through flesh, leaving users with horror open, rotting wounds.
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It’s a drug that is killing more and more Brits as the months go on - but Karl was tragically its first official victim.
Xylazine is a painkiller and relaxant used on animals, but it’s often cut with heroin and fentanyl.
That’s how Karl died, his brother-in-law Chris says.
The dad-of-two told The Sun: “We were shocked because Karl was a very experienced heroin user.
“He would have never knowingly taken anything other than heroin or crack so it was a shock to hear he had fentanyl as well as the other drug in his system.
“They should at least let people know what is in the stuff.”
In the wake of Karl’s death an expert said it “was likely to have bought heroin and not known it was laced with xylazine and fentanyl”.
Chris said the hardest thing for their family to accept was that Karl had been trying to kick his drug habit - which he’d had for almost three decades.
The 38-year-old added: “It is really sad because he kept trying to come off it and get his life straight.
"He gave his sister control of his money to try and get it under control.”
Karl’s younger sister Sadie said it was highly unlikely he intended to take tranq dope.
The 37-year-old said: “My brother knew all about the dangers so it is scary that someone like him would be caught out.
"How big is the UK’s Xylazine problem? This could be the tiniest tip of a growing iceberg.”
Karl’s older sister, Diane Warburton, previously said she fears similar scenes to the US could now be seen on many of Britain’s streets in the near future.
She added: “There is a big problem with drugs in Birmingham and in the Midlands, as there is across the country, and this new drug, now here from America, will make the issue much worse.
“The thing is when you get as low as Karl did, you don’t really care what you’re putting into your body as long as it numbs you.”
West Midlands Police told The Sun they had seized Class A and B drugs in Solihull amid four search warrants in four days.
Inspector Mark Heard, local CID supervisor at Solihull LPA, said: “We depend on our communities to inform us about drug dealing and issues involving drug use.
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"This helps us formulate our patrol plans and drug warrants and we would urge people who have any information to please contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101.
"Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”