DUBOIS – A Brockway woman is facing charges for allegedly supplying a substance containing heroin and fentanyl to a woman who died from a multi-drug overdose.
Catherine M. Quashnock, 28, is charged by Officer Casey G. Doherty of the DuBois City police with felony drug delivery resulting in death and manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver.
In addition, she’s charged with felony dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and criminal use of a communication facility and two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.
The charges stem from an overdose death that occurred May 1 at a residence in the 100 block of South Franklin Street, in DuBois, according to the affidavit of probable cause that was filed by police on Friday.
Police say the victim, Jennifer Vionito, and a male consumed a substance they believed was heroin, but that it actually contained heroin and fentanyl, which caused both to suffer a “multi-drug overdose and lose consciousness.”
The male survived due to emergency medical intervention while Vionito was pronounced dead at the scene. The male underwent treatment at the Penn Highlands Intensive Care Unit and regained consciousness.
In an interview with police May 2, he said he arranged a purchase of four packets of heroin from a woman he knew as “Cat” from text messages on his cellular phone. She was listed in his contacts as “Catherine” and the assigned picture depicted Quashnock.
He said he met Quashnock at Brown Alley, near South Jared Street, and paid her $60 in exchange for four packets of a substance he believed to be heroin. Doherty was permitted to access the male’s phone and observed the text-message exchange with Quashnock.
The male returned to the South Franklin Street residence, and he consumed the drug with Vionito, according to the affidavit. Doherty collected the four packets from the residence and transferred them to the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Lab for analysis.
On May 20, Doherty received the laboratory report, which indicated that the packets contained the drugs, heroin and fentanyl. On May 21, he received toxicology results for Vionito that indicated the presence of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine.
On June 4, Doherty received the victim’s autopsy report in which the pathologist concluded the cause and manner of death as an accidental, multi-drug overdose, noting that “clearly, the dominant chemicals causing death … are fentanyl and heroin.”
On May 26, Cpl. Randy Young interviewed Quashnock and she allegedly admitted to having delivered heroin to the male and that in turn resulted in the overdose death.
Quashnock is currently being held in the Clearfield County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. She’s scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 10:30 a.m. June 12 before Magisterial District Judge Patrick Ford.