Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Chris Kimker, and Rockaway Borough Police Chief Conrad Pepperman announce that Natalia Zyga, 30, with a last known address in Rockaway Township, has been convicted and sentenced in connection with the fatal drug overdose of Ms. Sasha Truesdale that occurred on November 23, 2018.
Police say Zyga was sentenced to five (5) years in New Jersey State Prison and must serve 85% of this sentence before being eligible for parole.
The investigation stems from a November 23, 2018, report of a female who was unconscious and not breathing.
The female, whom medical staff pronounced as deceased at the scene, was identified as Ms. Sasha Truesdale. The investigation would reveal that Truesdale was the victim of a fatal drug overdose.
In pleading guilty, Natalia E. Zyga admitted that she distributed heroin and fentanyl to Truesdale in Rockaway Borough and that Truesdale’s ingestion of that heroin and fentanyl resulted in Truesdale’s death. Zyga pled guilty to Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death.
This statute provides that any person who manufactures, distributes or dispenses any of several dangerous controlled substances is strictly liable for a death that results from the injection, inhalation, or ingestion of that substance.
The Hon. Robert E. Hanna, J.S.C. imposed the sentence. Assistant Prosecutor Kelly A. Sandler represented the State in this matter.
Prosecutor Knapp thanks the members of the Rockaway Borough Police Department, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Special Enforcement Unit, and the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office who contributed to this investigation and prosecution.