Two women are dead, and, like so many stories with unhappy endings, drugs may be the ultimate cause.

Brad Srebnik and Joshua Wirgau were last week bound over to 26th Circuit Court for trial in the deaths of Brynn Bills, 17, and Abby Hill, 31. The men have pleaded not guilty and defense attorneys have harshly questioned the believability of some of the prosecution’s witnesses, including one man who pleaded guilty to originally lying to investigators trying to track down Bills’ and Hill’s killers.

However, if those witnesses can be believed, drugs are at the root of the whole ordeal.

According to testimony and evidence presented in the preliminary examination that led to the bindovers, a cocaine transaction gone wrong led Bills to attack Srebnik, which led Hill to strangle Bills to death. Wirgau helped Srebnik and Hill bury Bills’ body in part because Wirgau owed Srebnik money for drugs. Srebnik then killed Hill because she knew too much about Bills’ death and Srebnik feared she might go to the police.

Drugs are perhaps Northeast Michigan’s most serious problem, with the rate of drug-related arrests here outpacing the statewide rate, according to a 2021 News investigation (read The News’ entire investigation at tinyurl.com/ACommunityDisease).

Yet, in 2022, manpower at the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team — our region’s multi-jurisdictional drug task force — was at an “all-time low,” according to HUNT’s latest annual report.

It takes a whole-community approach to combat the drug problem.

Municipalities have to invest in HUNT and their own drug-fighting operations. Funders have to invest in addiction treatment agencies. Schools have to talk frequently with their students about the dangers of drugs. Nonprofits that work in the community have to make sure their clients know about drug treatment options.

We all must play a role.

People often turn to drugs to escape emotional pain, so we each have to do all we can to show emotional support to the people in our lives. If we suspect someone we care about has turned to drugs, we have to encourage them to get the help they need. And we all have to watch our neighborhoods, reporting to police if we suspect drug activity.

Working together, coordinating our efforts as a community, we can turn more unhappy endings into happy ones.