It’s a parent’s worst nightmare that has become all too common on Long Island. On August 18, 2022, Sue Murray found her daughter Chelsey in the bathroom of their Lake Grove home, unresponsive and overdosing on a mix of heroin and fentanyl, known as a “fetty mix” on the street. Chelsey’s parents called 911 and police administered Narcan, which was able to reverse the effects of the fentanyl, and she regained a pulse. But that hope was fleeting.
Chelsey was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where she ultimately passed away several days later as a result of a drug overdose.
She was 31-years-old.
An undercover detective from the Suffolk County Police Department, investigating Chelsey’s death, contacted Jaquan Casserly, a suspect in the case. The detective arranged for a sale of narcotics and Casserly sold the undercover detective a combination of heroin and fentanyl contained in a red glassine envelope, which police say was similar to one that Chelsey’s father found in the bathroom where Chelsey overdosed.
On August 27, 2022, police executed a search warrant at Casserly’s Holbrook residence and recovered a combination of heroin and fentanyl, a digital scale used to weigh narcotics, red and black glassine/wax envelopes used to package narcotics, a pair of metal knuckles, and Casserly’s cell phone. The red envelopes were similar in appearance to the ones sold to the undercover detective.
A search of Casserly’s phone showed that he arranged to meet Chelsey on August 17, 2022, offering to sell her the “fetty mix.”
Casserly, 34, of Holbrook, is a convicted criminal. In 2018 he was convicted of Attempted Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance and in 2011 he was convicted of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.
On April 5, 2024, Casserly pleaded guilty to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony. He is due back in court for sentencing on May 8, 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision.
District Attorney Ray Tierney said that dealers supply deadly drugs to vulnerable individuals that can kill with just a small amount.
“That is why I continue to advocate for the passage of ‘Chelsey’s Law,’ a law that holds drug dealers accountable for the overdose deaths caused by the drugs they sell,” he said.
Chelsey’s parents, Gene and Sue Murray recently joined District Attorney Tierney in Albany to call for New York State lawmakers to pass Chelsey’s Law, which if passed, would charge a drug dealer with manslaughter or aggravated manslaughter, for knowingly selling a drug that causes a victim to fatally overdose.
Photo: Jaquan Casserly, Suffolk County District Attorney File Photo.
