Woman charged in overdose death
Aug. 30—Nearly six months after a 33-year-old woman overdosed on a powerful narcotic and died, the woman who investigators say supplied the drug has been charged.
Kayla Marie Brown, 30, was extradited from Florida and brought to the Caldwell County Detention Center on a death by distribution charge, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said Monday. Brown's bond was set at $150,000 secured.
Ashley Elizabeth O'Sullivan, 33, passed away on March 19 after taking a pill that investigators say was supplied to her by Brown. The pill that was given to her contained fentanyl, a powerful painkiller that can be fatal in small amounts.
O'Sullivan's mother, Julia Price, said O'Sullivan was headed to the emergency room that day due to pain from a boil on her skin.
"I believe that's why she took the pill," she said. "She was so good. Her heart was so good. I am still so angry ... (Brown) took my baby."
Her sister, Megan O'Sullivan, said Ashley O'Sullivan and Brown were friends.
"She trusted her. It's not like she got something off of some random person," she said.
Megan O'Sullivan said that her sister, like so many, struggled with opiates, "but she didn't want this. She didn't want fentanyl. She texted me that morning asking for pictures of my kids for a Mother's Day gift for (our) mom," she said.
Megan O'Sullivan said her sister was "my best friend. When my daughter passed away she helped me through all of the funeral arrangements. ... She was always there for me and she was the kind of person who would give somebody the shirt off her back."
Capt. Aaron Barlowe of the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said Brown fled to Florida shortly after O'Sullivan's death. He said Florida authorities detained Brown in early August.
Death by distribution is a relatively new charge in North Carolina, created just two years ago because of an escalating number of overdose deaths, and Brown's case is the first in Caldwell County.
The legislation states that the charge is meant to "strengthen the laws to act as a greater deterrent to persons who want to illegally distribute opioids and further exacerbate the opioid pandemic."
Reporter Candice Simmons can be reached at (828)610-8721
Reporter Candice Simmons can be reached at (828)610-8721
