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Dr. James Ryan, 50, of Clarksburg, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted for his role in the death of 25-year-old Sarah Harris nearly two years ago.
The Germantown doctor first knew Harris as a patient before she took over as a surgical technician in his practice in October 2020, and the two began a romantic relationship not long after, prosecutors said.
While they were together, Harris overdosed on Jan. 26, 2022 in the home she was renting in Clarksburg with Harris, and a subsequent autopsy determined her cause of death was ketamine, propofol and diazepam intoxication.
Ryan had been supplying her with drugs, taken from his oral surgery practice, often administering them himself, according to officials.
On the morning of her death, Ryan told first responders that he had gone to bed the night before and when he woke up, he found Harris downstairs unresponsive on the couch with used hypodermic needles and vials of drugs nearby.
Further investigation by police and Harris' sister led to the discovery of exchanges between she and Ryan "that are very frank and often depict Sarah Harris asking Ryan to procure/obtain different drugs during that time period," court documents state.
"Also, during the conversations during that time, Ryan tells Sarah Harris that he is bringing her certain drugs, instructs her on how/when to use certain drugs, instructs her on where to find certain drugs, and tells her how he is planning to obtain drugs."
Prosecutors also made note that based on the messages, "it is clear that after moving in with Ryan, Sarah Harris developed and sank into a serious addiction involving multiple controlled dangerous substances by Ryan over the course of many months."
The doctor was convicted by a jury on charges that include second-degree depraved heart murder and involuntary manslaughter, as well as possession with the intent to distribute midazolam and distribution of ketamine and diazepam.
He had faced up to 55 years in prison.
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