Last of 3 defendants takes plea in Aurora drug death case

The last of three men accused in the March 2009 death of a Joliet woman has pleaded guilty to drug-induced homicide.

Ryan J. Faber, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday to the Class X felony. At the same hearing, he pleaded guilty for a January 2009 case, in which he was charged with unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, a Class 3 felony, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. He will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 8 by Judge T. Jordan Gallagher.

Aurora police say that at about 9 p.m. March 21, 2009, 18-year-old Amber J. Thompson of Joliet visited an Aurora apartment occupied by Faber and co-defendant Christopher D. Parker, 23. Another man, Kyle B. Hayes, 22, of Sandwich, arrived shortly thereafter, bought heroin from Faber and gave it to Thompson. She then inhaled it, police said, and about 45 minutes later, Parker injected heroin in to Thompson's arm. She became unconscious and fell.

The group feared getting in legal trouble if they called 911 for medical help, police said. Hayes tried giving Thompson mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and she regained consciousness about 30 minutes later, then fell asleep.

The next morning, Faber discovered Thompson was unconscious and not breathing. Parker and Hayes tried driving her to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, then stopped at a gas station and called 911. Paramedics took her to Rush Copley, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy showed she died as a result of the injection of a controlled substance.

At the time of Thompson's death, Faber was free on bond from the January 2009 case. He has been in the Kane County jail since March 24, 2009, unable to post $35,000 in order to be released.

Hayes pleaded guilty June 25 to drug-induced homicide, in exchange for a sentence of six years in prison.

Parker pleaded guilty to drug-induced homicide March 4, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon. Since it is a Class X crime, he must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, or eight years and six months.