Woman acquitted in Pa. drug overdose case
A suburban Philadelphia jury has acquitted a woman in a court test of a revamped law aimed at making it easier to prosecute people involved in drug overdose deaths.
The (Doylestown) Intelligencer reports that Bucks County jurors acquitted 39-year-old Nicole Lavery Thursday of a felony charge of drug delivery resulting in death but convicted her of a lesser charge.
She was charged in the September death of 26-year-old Megan Boni of Bensalem at a Bristol Pike motel. Authorities said she died of a heroin overdose. A doctor testified for the defense that Boni overdosed on prescription antidepressants.
Deputy District Attorney Ryan Hyde said he respected the verdict but felt it “devalues” the victim’s life. Defense attorney Gerald Egan called the death tragic but said his client wasn’t responsible.
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