In Westmoreland County Court today, a motions hearing will be held for 22-year-old Dylan Blair, the Saltsburg man accused of supplying the drugs that took the life of a Derry woman on the day after Christmas, 2016.
Blair’s omnibus pre-trial motions ask the court for a writ of habeas corpus, which could effectively dismiss the charges. The motions also ask Judge Christopher Feliciani to outright dismiss the charges, and they request a bill of particulars in the case.
Blair is accused of providing the deadly mix of heroin and fentanyl that killed 38-year-old Michelle Spillar, whose body was found next to her bed with an empty stamp bag and two full bags of heroin beside her. Toxicology reports determined that the cause of death was an “acute combined drug toxicity” including fentanyl and two other drugs that were not heroin.
Attorney Emily Smarto contends that since the autopsy did not specifically blame drugs provided by Blair for Spillar’s death, the prosecution cannot prove its case. She also challenges the state’s statute regarding drug delivery resulting in death, contending that it is vague, does not provide for the specific mental state of the defendant, and does not adequately define what is prohibited conduct.
Blair was tracked down by Westmoreland County detectives and captured in at the Days Inn in Burrell Township in May of 2017. When the detectives entered his rented room, they found another man, Edward Russian of Saltsburg, in the midst of overdosing. Russian revived and eventually pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia. Blair pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in that case. Both were sentenced to one year probation.
Blair remains in custody at the Westmoreland County Prison.
