Nine years for woman who supplied fatal dose of heroin in Wheaton
A 34-year-old Summit woman was sentenced to nine years in prison Wednesday for supplying her friend with a fatal dose of heroin in 2012 in Wheaton.
Jennifer Nere will be required to serve 75 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole. She also will receive credit for 419 days already spent in custody, DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin said.
Nere was just the second person to be charged with, tried and convicted on drug-induced homicide charges in DuPage. A jury of 12 also convicted Nere in August of the lesser charge of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
"This is not a typical case of homicide as we know it," said Assistant State's Attorney Jae Kwon. "It's sad all the way around. This case has devastated multiple families."
Nere brought heroin to her friend, 32-year-old Wheaton resident Augustina Taylor, during the late-night hours of June 27, 2012, following a family party celebrating Taylor's release after a year in prison.
In the early morning hours of June 28, 2012, Taylor was found dead in her mother's bathroom.
Her death was ruled an overdose from a mixture of cocaine and heroin.
Guerin called the interaction between Taylor and Nere that night a "deadly game of Russian roulette."
"But the focus today is not on the victim's actions. For that she lost her life," Guerin said. "And the defendant must pay with her freedom."
A teary-eyed Nere addressed Taylor's family when given a chance to speak.
"I'm very sorry. That was a stupid decision that I made," Nere said. "I never want to touch drugs again. I miss my kids more than anything."
During the trial, prosecutors played a video and read a letter in which Nere admitted to bringing Taylor the "rock and blow" in an old sock she had previously used to wipe blood from one of her own track marks.
Nere's attorney, David Gaughan, sought the minimum sentence of six years.
"The best hope to come from this tragedy is that Jennifer gets out and helps the next Tina or Jennifer get off drugs or keeps the next Tina or Jennifer from getting into drugs," Gaughan said.
Prosecutors said the case is yet another difficult story about the use of heroin in the county.
"While we have made some progress in educating the public about the dangers of heroin use, we continue to see an alarming rate of heroin overdose deaths," DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin said in a news release. "The circumstances of this case are particularly disheartening considering that the defendant and the victim were friends."