Morris Prosecutor: Additional Charge in Connection with Fatal Drug Overdose in Rockaway Borough

Published on February 26, 2019

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr. and Rockaway Borough Police Chief Conrad Pepperman have announced the filing of an additional charge related to a fatal drug overdose that occurred last year in Rockaway Borough.

On Nov. 23, 2018, law enforcement responded to a report of a female who was unconscious and not breathing. The female, who was pronounced as deceased at the scene, was identified as Sasha Truesdale. The investigation would reveal that Truesdale was the victim of a fatal drug overdose.

Through a subsequent investigation, it is alleged that Natalia E. Zyga, 30, with a last known address in Rockaway Township, distributed heroin and fentanyl to Truesdale in Rockaway Borough on Nov. 23. It is further alleged that the ingestion of the heroin and fentanyl distributed by Zyga to Truesdale resulted in Truesdale's death.

Zyga has been charged with Strict Liability for Drug-Induced Death'' under a law that states that any person who manufactures, distributes or dispenses any of a number of controlled dangerous substances is strictly liable for a death that results from the injection, inhalation, or ingestion of that substance.

This is a first-degree crime which is punishable by up to 20 years in state prison and is subject to the 85 percent parole ineligibility requirements of the No Early Release Act.

Zyga previously was charged with other drug-related offenses stemming from this investigation. She was lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility pending future court proceedings.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been actively involved in this investigation, including the Rockaway Borough Police Department, Morris County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation, and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes and Special Enforcement Units.

If anyone has any information related to this investigation, they are encouraged to call the Major Crimes Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-6200.

Any inquiries can be directed to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at pressinquiry@co.morris.nj.us.