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David Belk, 45, and Stephanie O’Neill, 44, both of Little Egg Harbor, have been charged with strict liability, endangering the welfare of a child, and drug related charges, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Captain James Hawkins said.
Belk and O’Neill supplied heroin and fentanyl to the 16-year-old boy, who was found unresponsive on the floor of an East Susquehanna Driver on July 3, authorities said.
Responding officers administered lifesaving efforts before the boy was transported to Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Further investigation and toxicology analysis confirmed the presence of heroin and fentanyl in the victim’s system.
Based upon the toxicology analysis, the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office said that the heroin and fentanyl found in the victim’s system was the cause of his death.
As a consequence, Belk and O’Neill were charged.
O’Neill was taken into custody and lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Belk was arrested nabbed by NJ Transit police in Atlantic City on Aug. 27, authorities said.
Billhimer and Hawkins commend the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department Patrol Division, Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation.
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