Appeals court upholds Muncie woman's conviction in fatal overdose

MUNCIE, Ind. — The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a Muncie woman's conviction stemming from a fatal drug overdose.

In a Friday ruling, the three-judge panel affirmed Vera Renee Morgan's October 2022 conviction for dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death.

Testimony at her trial indicated Morgan and co-defendant Michael Tyler Schoeff in September 2020 went to Dayton, Ohio, to purchase heroin, and that Morgan a few weeks later sold the drug to a 32-year-old local woman, who then died after an overdose.

Morgan, now 34, was later sentenced to 40 years in prison by Delaware Circuit Court 4 Judge John Feick.

More: Muncie woman sentenced to 40 years for role in fatal overdose

In her appeal, Morgan contended jurors should not have been shown text messages concerning her drug-related activities, including her interactions with the overdose victim.

In Friday's ruling, Judge Paul Mathias wrote the appeals court agree with the prosecution "that the text exchanges here were relevant to show Morgan's plan of dealing heroin (to the victim)."

Morgan is now incarcerated at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis, and has a projected release date in September 2051, according to a state Department of Correction website.

On Wednesday, a Circuit Court 4 jury found Schoeff, 37, guilty of a related count of aiding, inducing or causing dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death,

Schoeff — also determined by the jury to be a habitual offender — is scheduled to be sentenced by Feick on May 17.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie woman's conviction in fatal overdose upheld by appeals court