A former Kane man will face a preliminary hearing later this month on allegations that he provided the morphine which caused a woman’s fatal overdose.
Edward Samuel Valeri, 41, of 724 Fifth Ave., Bristol, is charged with drug delivery resulting in death, a first-degree felony; delivery of a controlled substance, a felony; aggravated assault, a first-degree felony; involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor; and recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m.Dec. 18 before District Judge David Engman in Kane.
According to court records, 43-year-old Suzie Christina Witherell was found dead at her residence on Pond Road in Wetmore Township on Feb. 29, 2016.
Witherell’s husband told police she had struggled with abuse of prescription medication in the past. However, a few days before her death, Witherell began acting strangely. Her husband told police she would have tremors, her hands would shake, she would be disoriented at times and couldn’t remember what day it was. She also had trouble breathing, especially when she was sleeping, the criminal complaint stated.
State troopers found her purse in her bedroom, and inside it was a Western Union receipt for $324, $300 of which was wired to Valeri. Through text messages and Facebook messages, police were able to track that Witherell contacted Valeri to ask him to sell her pills. She sent him money, and he sent her morphine pills, troopers alleged.
On March 1, an autopsy was conducted, and Witherell’s cause of death was determined to be morphine toxicity, the complaint stated.
On Nov. 22, 2016, troopers interviewed Valeri in Bristol. He said he met Suzie Witherell when he worked in Kane, and said he would often give or sell her pills because she complained of pain.
“Valeri admitted that Witherell sent him a couple hundred dollars via Western Union, and in return he sent Suzie five to eight morphine pills through the mail,” the complaint stated.
Valeri, who remains jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail, is represented by the McKean County Public Defender’s office.
Photo courtesy of Kane Republican
