Hibbing man convicted in fentanyl death of Ginae Jo Songer

Ginae Jo Songer’s death in Hibbing ended with a St. Louis County jury finding Travis James Paul Lukkar guilty of third-degree murder and fourth-degree controlled substance sale, a verdict that turns a fatal fentanyl case into a criminal finding with prison at stake.

After six days of trial, the Hibbing jury convicted Lukkar, 31, in case file 69HI-CR-23-475, the county said in its May 5 release. Prosecutors said Songer, 36, died from the effects of fentanyl sold to her by Lukkar on Feb. 7, 2023. Judge Rachel C. Sullivan ordered Lukkar held without bail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for June 12, 2026, at 9 a.m.

The case reached back more than three years, to a night that began as a possible overdose call and ended in a death that shook a family on the Iron Range. WDIO reported that Songer’s two children found their mother face down on the living-room floor after police responded on Feb. 8, 2023. The oldest daughter ran to a neighbor and called 911. Investigators later found drug paraphernalia in Songer’s apartment, and the medical examiner listed fentanyl toxicity as the cause of death on April 3, 2023.

According to WDIO, investigators also found a phone conversation between Songer and Lukkar about fentanyl on Feb. 7, 2023. Lukkar later told authorities he messaged Songer and offered to sell her fentanyl. That evidence helped carry the prosecution’s theory into a murder verdict, not just a drug case, and gave jurors a path to hold him responsible for a death tied directly to a sale.

Assistant County Attorney Aaron P. Welch prosecuted the case. In its release, the county thanked Songer’s family for their strength and support during the case, along with the Hibbing Police Department, the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

Songer’s obituary said she was born April 28, 1986, in Fresno, California, and was a lifelong resident of the Iron Range. It also said her memorial service was held March 14, 2023, at Nashwauk Alliance Church. For St. Louis County, the verdict is another sign that drug deaths can lead to homicide charges when investigators trace the fatal dose back to a seller, a message that may matter as local law enforcement keeps pressing overdose cases as both public-health crises and criminal acts.