WSOC TV9 in Charlotte segment featuring Barbara Walsh advocating for speedier toxicology and autopsy reports.
Category: Personal Stories
Mother who lost son to fentanyl-related death organizes walk to raise awareness
MOREHEAD CITY — A Morehead City mother who lost her son in December to a fentanyl-related death is turning her grief into action.
Mary Warstler of Morehead City is organizing The Walk for Fentanyl Awareness to fight back against the epidemic that is plaguing the county, state and nation.
“I’m hoping to raise awareness and want to see more education in our schools about this at a younger age,” Warstler said. “I talk to a lot of young people that don’t know what it is, and some have said if they get drugs from their friends, it is safe. But their friends are getting drugs from dealers, and they are not safe. I applaud what’s being done so far by our officials, but more needs to be done.”
She added that she is reaching out to other mothers who have lost children to drug overdoses.
“If I can save one mom from the hell I’m going through and what other moms are going through — if I can save somebody — this will be worth it,” she said.
NC man pleads guilty to giving fentanyl to his 16-year-old girlfriend, killing her
A Rutherford County man pleaded guilty Monday to giving his 16-year-old girlfriend a pain pill laced with fentanyl, leading to her September 2022 death.
In return for his plea, Nicholas Gage Ivey, 19, of Spindale, will serve up to three years in prison. He also has agreed to testify against his co-defendant, Deontae Jaquise Miller, 24, of Rutherfordton.
Both were arrested in connection with the death of Abigail Saunderson, 16, of Gaston County.
At his arraignment Monday, Ivey pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to sell/deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, and felony conspiracy, District Attorney Travis Page told The Charlotte Observer. He received consecutive sentences of 10-21 months and 6-17 months.
Man convicted in fentanyl death of teenager
A Rutherford County man was convicted in the death of his 16-year-old girlfriend, who died of fentanyl poisoning after ingesting a pill he helped her buy.
Nicholas Ivey, 19, arranged the sale of pills to Abi Saunderson, a sophomore at Kings Mountain High School, on Sept. 25, 2022, District Attorney Travis Page said. Abi’s older sister found her dead in her bed the morning of Sept. 26. The pills, it turned out, contained fentanyl.
Ivey spoke with police several times, eventually calling a detective in October and confessing to his role in Saunderson’s death.
Family says guilty plea in daughter’s fentanyl death is a step in the right direction
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A 19-year-old man pleaded guilty in Gaston County to giving his 16-year-old girlfriend a pain pill laced with fentanyl.
Investigators said Abigail Saunderson died in September 2022 from fentanyl poisoning. Now, her family wants others to hear her story and stay away from dangerous drugs.
Saunderson’s mother, Tracy Saunderson-Ross, said Nicholas Gage’s guilty plea Monday was a big win for saving lives. She said the case was critical because more young people like her daughter are losing their lives to fentanyl, and it can be avoided.
Saunderson-Ross showed Channel 9′s Ken Lemon a lock of her daughter’s hair she brought with her to court.
“This is the last thing I will ever touch of my baby girl,” she said.
She said her daughter asked Gage for a prescription pain pill last September. She said Saunderson didn’t know the pill she was taking was laced with fentanyl, and it killed her.
Read the full article and watch the video on the WSOC Tv9 web site.
‘War on drugs’ deja vu: Fentanyl overdoses spur states to seek tougher laws
Randy Abbott seethed with anger after his 24-year-old daughter, Vanessa, died of an overdose at a North Carolina house party eight years ago. His idea of justice was “for everybody to go to jail forever.”
But today, Abbott doesn’t believe that users who share lethal drugsshould be prosecuted for the resulting deaths. In Vanessa’s case, that person was a childhood friend, herself in the throes of addiction. “She lives every day with the fact she lost her best friend,” Abbott said.
His view is part of an emotional debate unfolding in state legislatures across the country, as lawmakers move to crack down on drug crimes in response to growing anger and fearover the toll of a drug crisis killing thousands every month. In North Carolina, one of at least a dozen states this year that haveconsidered tougher drug penalties, the Senate recently passed a measure thatwould expand prosecutors’ ability to bring felony charges againstanyone who gives a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Read the full article on the Washington Post web site (registration may be required).
NC families of fentanyl victims advocate for more state action to fight opioid crisis
RALEIGH N.C. (WNCN) — Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved lifesaving medication to combat the opioid crisis.
While families of fentanyl victims in North Carolina are praising the decision, they say there’s more to do on a state level to prevent deaths.
Barb Walsh’s 24-year-old daughter, Sophia, died in 2021 after drinking from what she thought was a typical water bottle, instead it had dissolved fentanyl inside.
Walsh created the Fentanyl Victims Network to connect families impacted in the state.
“Every night I call five families because I want to talk to them,” Walsh said. “To collect these people and let them know that they’re not alone and they need to join us. We are stronger together.”
Read the full article on the CBS17 web site.
WRAL TV5 Coverage of Family Summit
RALEIGH, N.C. — More than 40 families came together Saturday at the Public Safety and Justice Conference at NC State University.
Eight North Carolinians die each day from fentanyl poisoning, and over 13,376 died from fentanyl from 2013 to November 2022.
Barb Walsh, founder and executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, lost her daughter 24-year-old daughter, Sophia, to fentanyl poisoning. Now she’s trying to connect others who’ve lost loved ones to fentanyl.
“Other people who lost a child to fentanyl, or loved one, they shouldn’t stand alone,” Walsh said. “I felt like we would all be stronger if we stood together.”
Read the article and watch the video on the WRAL Tv5 web site.
Local activist appears at Raleigh anti-fentanyl event
Jan. 23—RALEIGH — A number of activists from across the country met in Raleigh on Saturday for an event meant to raise awareness of fentanyl, including Oxford’s Patricia Drewes.
“Children are going to experiment [with drugs], but they should not have to pay for that experiment with their lives,” Drewes said. “And that’s what is happening. That’s what is happening in this country … Our children are being murdered, and poisoned in broad open daylight on American soil. And something has to be done.
Read the full article on the Henderson Dispatch web site (subscription required) or on Yahoo News.
Triangle families ask for more to protect lives from Fentanyl
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Mitchico Duff described her daughter as kind and loving. Two years ago, Duff said she tragically lost her daughter, 22-year-old Machiko La’deja Duff, from fentanyl.
“I don’t want another mom to feel the way I feel, this is a nightmare, this is torture…” said Duff while attending a fentanyl awareness event Saturday near Downtown Raleigh.
“It took us a year to really find out what happened,” the Johnston County mother added. “We knew it was drugs involved but we didn’t know to the extent of what.”
Read the full story on the WNCN CBS17 web site.