Prison term for woman who supplied deadly drugs
MOUNT HOLLY - A Pemberton Township woman has received a 12-year prison term for supplying the fentanyl-laced heroin that caused a deadly overdose.
Shannon McGuigan, 36, must serve than 10 years before parole eligibility, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.
McGuigan was charged in connection with the overdose death of a 25-year-old Pemberton Township woman in May 2017.
An autopsy determined the death resulted from heroin and fentanyl toxicity.
"The investigation revealed that the victim purchased drugs from McGuigan a short time before she fatally overdosed," the prosecutor's office said.
McGuigan was found guilty in March of strict liability for drug-induced death and multiple drug offenses.
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina cited the "patience and staunch advocacy" shown by the victim's parents since the overdose.
Coffina noted the victim's mother, who had found her daughter's body in their home, on Friday delivered "an incredibly gracious statement to the court, expressing both her extreme pain, and also hope, that the defendant will turn her life around."
In a separate case, McGuigan pled guilty Friday to one count of cocaine possession.
Superior Court Judge John J. Burke III sentenced her to a four-year term for that offense.
McGuigan will serve her terms concurrently.
Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
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This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Shannon McGuigan supplied the drugs that killed a woman in May 2017
