Muncie woman found guilty in fatal overdose at Delaware County jail

MUNCIE, Ind. — A jury deliberated for about 90 minutes Thursday afternoon before finding a Muncie woman guilty of a felony stemming from a fatal overdose in the Delaware County jail.

Mya Lynn Moody, 32, was charged with dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison.

Testimony during this week's trial indicated Moody smuggled what was believed to be heroin into the jail following her arrest last October.

She later provided the drug to fellow prisoners, including Dianna Rose Pace, a 37-year-old Muncie woman who died after overdosing.

An autopsy determined Pace had died as a result of "acute fentanyl intoxication."

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Heroin is frequently mixed with fentanyl, an opioid pain medication.

After returning the guilty verdict about 2:30 p.m., jurors deliberated again — for about eight minutes — on the issue of whether Moody's criminal record warranted her being declared a habitual offender.

Indiana Department of Correction records reflect the Muncie woman had prior convictions for dealing in a controlled substance and robbery.

The jury determined she was a habitual offender, which could add up to 20 years to the prison term Moody receives when she is sentenced by Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees on June 15.

In his closing statement on Thursday, defense attorney Joseph Hunter told jurors they could not trust the accounts of jail inmates who testified against his client.

Deputy Prosecutor Steve Sneed — who presented the state's case with Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig — told jurors he wasn't asking them "to like any of these people."

"There are no angels in the case," Sneed said, while noting other evidence that supported claims Moody had brought the drug into a cellblock and offered it to other prisoners.

The deputy prosecutor recalled phone conversations, recorded after Moody's arrest, in which she told her boyfriend she was concerned a plastic bag containing the drug — which she had apparently swallowed — might tear up open, leading to her own fatal overdose.

Moody later told the boyfriend she had been able to get the bag to come "back up," Sneed said.

Other prisoners said Moody had acknowledged being the provider of the drug following Pace's death.

Sneed noted her overdose death had robbed Pace of an opportunity to meet her newborn grandchild.

In January, Jessica May Campbell, a 34-year-old Muncie woman, became the first person in Delaware County to be convicted of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death. The charge was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 2018.

Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said Thursday the convictions "should send a crystal clear message to drug dealers. if you deal narcotics in Delaware County and your customer overdoses and dies, you will be prosecuted and you will be held accountable."

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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: Jury find Muncie woman guilty of role in fatal overdose at jail