DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa.– A Harrisburg woman was sentenced to spend up to 14 years in prison as a part of a plea agreement in connection to a a drug delivery resulting in death.
Nicole Murray, 36, was sentenced to spend between 7-14 years in state prison.
On July 5, 2016, Murray allegedly went to an apartment in the 100 block of Evergreen Street in Harrisburg to celebrate the birthday of Christine Schechterly.
During that party, Murray allegedly observed Schechterly was “too energetic” due to her cocaine ingestion, and urged her to try some heroin to calm her down.
Schechterly eventually agreed despite not ever using heroin before, and died instantly.
When Schechterly died, Murray fled the apartment and attempted to contact 911, however, she was under the influence of fentanyl to a degree that she could barely speak to the dispatcher.
Toxicology results indicate that the substance Schechterly was actually fentanyl/acetyl fentanyl and not heroin.
During an investigation, police found that Murray had suffered a heroin overdose in Harrisburg only a few weeks prior and had to be revived with narcan.
When she was revived and told what had happened, Murray allegedly responded by saying, “Again?”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Zawisky said, “Murray obviously knew first-hand what the risks were when someone ingests heroin/fentanyl. While she is an addict herself, she also pushed the deadly drug on another person who previously didn’t use it. We factored that in when we crafted the stiff state prison sentence.”
Now, she will serve time.
