Hanover Park roommates get prison for fatal heroin dose

Two Hanover Park roommates are headed to prison after pleading guilty to giving a fatal dose of heroin to a Bartlett man at their apartment and then hiding the man's body.

Hallie Manning, 45, of the 5700 block of Dutch Mill Court, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to drug-induced homicide.

Anthony Brown, 45, who lived with Manning, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to drug-induced homicide.

In the early morning hours of March 9, 2015, John Smrz, 32, was found in the snow outside the home the couple shared. An autopsy revealed that he died as the result of a heroin overdose. An investigation led authorities to Manning and Brown.

Prosecutors said Manning gave Smrz the heroin that she received from Brown. The investigation also revealed that Smrz took the heroin in the apartment shared by Manning and Brown and that once the couple realized that Smrz was overdosing, Brown took him outside and left him there.

On May 2, 2015, both Manning and Brown were charged and have been held in the DuPage County jail on $2 million bail each since that time.

"This is a very sad case of a young man who lost his life to heroin," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "To successfully rid our streets from this indiscriminate killer, we must not only continue to educate the public about the potentially deadly consequences of heroin use, we must also send a message to these poison peddlers that they will be caught, they will be prosecuted and they will spend a significant amount of time behind bars."

Manning and Brown also were indicted on charges of concealment of a homicide and delivery of a controlled substance. In addition, Brown was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Those charges were dropped in exchange for their guilty pleas.