CLEARFIELD, Pa. – All charges against a DuBois woman, accused of providing drugs that killed her boyfriend, were held to court after a preliminary hearing Monday in Clearfield County Court.
DuBois City Police charged Stacey Lee Miller Ellis, 40, of DuBois on May 30 with criminal homicide, drug delivery resulting in death, and manufacture/delivery/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the death of Brian Cleleski, 47, also of DuBois.
In his testimony during the hearing, Officer Zane Rhed, explained that he and another officer were called to the scene of an unresponsive male at a Jared Street residence at 1:57 p.m. Aug. 10, 2024.
When police arrived, the victim was lying on the bathroom floor and was blue due to a lack of oxygen. Emergency medical professionals were unable to resuscitate him.
His girlfriend, Ellis, was called home from work. She told Rhed that the victim had recently been in the hospital because he suffered from seizures.
When asked about drug paraphernalia in plain sight in a nearby room, she answered that she was “not allowed” in there. She agreed to a further search of the home and additional drug paraphernalia was discovered. The victim’s cell phone was taken as evidence.
Ellis told police the victim works until 6 a.m. and usually arrives home by 6:09 a.m. She stated on that day, he did not get home until 6:30 a.m., indicating he had stopped somewhere along the way.
Rhed testified that he checked surveillance cameras from the victim’s workplace and street cameras throughout the city of DuBois. He was able to see the victim leaving at 6 a.m. and arriving home around 6:09 a.m.
When asked by First Assistant District Attorney F. Cortez “Chip” Bell, if the victim seemed to have trouble walking, Rhed said no, adding that the victim did not appear to be intoxicated.
Rhed stated Ellis’s son was the one who called 911. He told authorities that he was in the living room when the victim stumbled past him and into the bathroom. The witness then heard a thump and checked on the victim who he found had passed out.
During the investigation and an interview with police, Ellis denied giving the victim any drugs.
She was interviewed again in September of 2025 after Rhed said he received a tip that someone had found drug paraphernalia under her mattress. Rhed started to explain what else was involved with that tip, but Ellis’s defense attorney Jeffrey Weinberg of Pittsburgh objected to this as hearsay.
In the affidavit of probable cause, the tip also included information that Ellis had provided the drugs that killed the victim.
Ellis denied that she gave drugs to the victim in the second interview and stated she was not allowed in his room where the drug paraphernalia was found. Later she recanted this and said she was allowed in the room sometimes.
Eventually, she allegedly admitted that she took an empty stamp bag and put two crystals of methamphetamine in it.
“Even if there was fentanyl in that. It was not going to kill anyone,” she allegedly stated.
Rhed said she told him that she left that bag on the desk and she had used methamphetamine from that same source herself.
When the bag was analyzed at a crime lab, it was determined that there was only fentanyl in it. Ellis’s DNA matched DNA on the bag, indicating she had handled it.
Rhed further explained that in text messages that morning the victim was trying to find a source of methamphetamine. Later Ellis messaged him about a sexual message she found that he sent someone else. She then began asking him if he was cheating on her. They began arguing.
At one point Ellis allegedly texted the victim saying that she was ready to “shoot this thing” referring to drugs she had in her possession, because she would rather die than continue to feel the pain of his betrayal.
In his cross examination, Weinberg asked if the text messages between the two included any threats to the victim. Rhed confirmed Ellis had not threatened the victim.
The only other testimony was from Kim Shaffer Snyder, Clearfield County Coroner. She testified the victim’s cause of death was a multi-drug overdose from using fentanyl and methamphetamine.
In his closing arguments, Weinberg told District Judge David Meholick, that the commonwealth had not provided enough evidence to indicate this was a premeditated murder. He asked Meholick to dismiss that charge.
Bell responded saying there was enough evidence to indicate a prima facie case which is all that is needed at the preliminary hearing level. He argued Ellis had fentanyl which is what she was referring to when she said she was thinking about numbing her pain. There is evidence she touched the bag which contained the drugs the victim ingested, he finished.
Meholick ruled all charges be sent on to the court of common pleas for further disposition. Ellis is being held without bail in the county jail.
