Pubdate: Thu, 31 Aug 2006
Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA)
Copyright: 2006 The Eagle-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.eagletribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129
Author: Gordon Fraser
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our 
editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who 
have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise 
public figures or officials.

TWO CHARGED IN TEEN'S HEROIN DEATH

BRENTWOOD - Caitlyn Brady's former boyfriend could face life in 
prison for providing the heroin that killed her and hiding the 
evidence, according to authorities.

"It's malicious disregard for the consequences of drugs like heroin," 
said Jim Reams, the county attorney.

Two men were arraigned yesterday on charges they were directly 
involved in a heroin overdose that, on March 15, killed Brady, 18, a 
former Sanborn Regional High School student.

Two other local men, arrested at the same time on Tuesday, face 
secret indictments on "heroin-related" charges, Reams said. Those 
charges will be made public in the next few days, he said.

Brady's boyfriend at the time, [Name redacted], 21, Newton, is 
charged with two felonies. Prosecutors said [Name redacted] dispensed 
the drug that killed Brady and then falsified the physical evidence 
by dumping a syringe and other drug paraphernalia in a Dumpster some 
distance from his house.

Brady's mother said that just two days before Caitlyn's death her 
daughter shared plans to end her relationship with [Name redacted]. 
But, her mother said, the young woman was at her boyfriend's house 
the morning of March 15, a Wednesday.

Caitlyn Brady had dropped out of school the November before.

Brady's mother, Gayle Brady, said yesterday she thinks it was [Name 
redacted] who actually injected the needle into her daughter's arm. 
She said she saw track marks, an indication of intravenous drug use, 
on her daughter's left arm the day she died. The young woman was 
left-handed, her mother said, which indicated to her that someone 
else had injected her daughter with drugs.

"That's my belief. Nobody else's belief but mine," she said.

Prosecutors have not alleged that [Name redacted] - or anyone else - 
injected Brady with the drug.

Whoever did - whether she did it herself, [Name redacted] did it or 
someone else - the heroin proved fatal.

She was pronounced dead at Exeter Hospital a short time after taking 
the drug, although Reams said she died almost instantly after the 
needle was injected into her arm.

Now, the men prosecutors say bought the heroin in Massachusetts, 
brought it to New Hampshire and ultimately gave it to Caitlyn Brady 
could face time in prison.

One of those men - [Name redacted], 22, Kingston - was arraigned 
yesterday on a felony charge of dispensing a controlled drug, death resulting.

Prosecutors said [Name redacted] drove [Name redacted] of Kingston - 
one of the men charged under secret indictment - to Massachusetts to 
buy the heroin that later killed Brady.

Those secret indictments and an investigation leave unanswered 
questions about the state's version of what happened last March.

Reams wouldn't say where in Massachusetts [Names redacted] went, or 
whom they bought the heroin from. He said the investigation continues 
and charges against others are possible in the coming days and weeks.

It also isn't clear how a fourth man - identified by Reams as [Name 
redacted] of East Kingston - was involved. [Name redacted] was 
arrested late Tuesday afternoon with the others. He is being held in 
the Rockingham County jail and faces a "heroin-related" charge in a 
secret indictment, Reams said.

[Name redacted] was taken yesterday from the jail to Exeter Hospital, 
according to Reams.

"He complained about his health, so the jail transported him," Reams 
said, adding that [Name redacted] could be arraigned in his hospital bed.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Coffey yesterday rejected pleas by 
defense attorneys for reduced bail, saying the men were young and 
face serious charges. She said they could prove a flight risk.

Coffey set bail for [Name redacted] at $100,000 cash each. Both men 
are still being held at the Rockingham County jail.

Reams said both could face life in prison, although prosecutors have 
not yet decided what penalties they'll ask for.

"I think it's fair to say we'll pursue heavy sentences," he said.

[Name redacted]'s lawyer, Philip Desfosses, asked the court to 
consider the facts alleged in the case, pointing out that no one has 
accused [Name redacted] of selling drugs or intending to harm Brady.

"This isn't a case where the drugs were sold or anything else," he said.

The prosecution is only alleging poor judgment, Desfosses said.

[Name redacted]'s lawyer, Neil Reardon, yesterday argued that his 
22-year-old client was "on the fringes" of the state's case, and he 
said the court should consider Brady's personal responsibility for 
her decision to take a serious drug.

"I would suggest to the court that anyone who takes heroin is taking 
poison," he said.

Reardon equated Brady's choice to take heroin to "suicide."

But Gayle Brady said her daughter never took the drug before, and 
said she blames [Name redacted] for her daughter's involvement with 
the deadly narcotic.

Four weeks before her death, Caitlyn Brady had gone to a doctor to 
receive treatment for eczema, according to her mother. Gayle Brady, 
who is a nurse, examined her daughter's arms then and saw no sign of 
intravenous drug use, she said.

The young woman had experimented with other drugs and alcohol, her 
mother said, but Gayle Brady blames [Name redacted] for many of her 
daughter's problems and, ultimately, her death.

Caitlyn Brady met [Name redacted] through a mutual friend three years 
ago, Gayle Brady said.

"He was almost like - you ever watch 'Leave it to Beaver?' You know 
Eddie Haskell?" she said of [Name redacted]. "He was a sweet talker, 
even to me."

She said she didn't know the other three men who were arrested with 
[Name redacted].

The circumstances of Caitlyn Brady's death have remained a mystery 
since March. Students at Sanborn Regional High School held a 
candlelight vigil remembering the young woman and other young people 
who had died this year.

About two weeks before her death, Caitlyn Brady returned to the 
school to visit friends and faculty members. Principal Gail Sudduth 
remembered Brady sharing plans to go to cosmetology school.

"We were really hoping that things were going well for her," Sudduth 
said shortly after the young woman's death.

Gayle Brady said her daughter was enrolled in school at the time of her death.

Now, the mother said, she's struggling to cope with her daughter's death.

"What happened to Caitlyn can come on you at any minute of the day," 
she said. "I could be crying in my car just before I have to go in 
and see somebody."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman