Warrant details Danbury overdose, charges against relative of victim

DANBURY — The city woman charged earlier this month in connection with a fatal overdose this past summer was a relative of the victim, according to the warrant for her arrest.

Susan Quinn, 35, is facing second-degree reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance charges after police say she contributed to the death of her 22-year-old cousin, Jada Mourning, earlier this year.

Quinn was arrested Dec. 8, following a severalmonth-long investigation that launched when police responded to an untimely death at Quinn’s residence July 3.

Officers found Mourning deceased in a bedroom at the home and were told that Quinn, Mourning and Quinn’s friend had been the only ones at the house the night before.

Quinn admitted to having a history of substance abuse but “denied any involvement with illegal substances,” said police.

According to the warrant for her arrest, Quinn told officers at the scene that she and Mourning had only been drinking during the late hours of July 2 into the early morning of July 3.

Two days later, though — after she and the friend were arrested for possessing heroin/fentanyl on Main Street — police said in the warrant Quinn revealed that she had not been truthful about her cousin’s recent death.

Quinn told police the friend was staying over her house the night of July 2, and Quinn invited Mourning to come over as well after Mourning contacted her, asking to get her heroin that evening.

Quinn said she alone went to purchase some in Waterbury that night, and Mourning and the friend were both at her house when she returned around 11 p.m.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Mourning asked Quinn for the drugs upon her return and Quinn told her that she “did not need it but if she was going to use it, she should do it with her present.” Quinn told police Mourning kept pushing her to “get high” and they argued about it, but all they did was drink and said she never handed Mourning the drugs.

Quinn said she last saw her cousin alive around 4 a.m. when she, Mourning and the friend went to bed. She told police she believed Mourning took the bag of heroin/fentanyl from her room after they all went to sleep.

The medical examiner’s office determined that Mourning died of acute intoxication from the combined effects of several substances — one of which was fentanyl, according to police. The manner of death was ruled accidental.

Through interviews and examining electronic evidence, police said they determined Quinn was involved in Mourning’s death and obtained a warrant for her arrest in November.

Following her Dec. 8 arrest, Quinn was released on a promise to appear in court Jan. 7.

Possession of a controlled substance is a class A misdemeanor and second-degree reckless endangerment is a class B misdemeanor.

An alumna of Danbury schools, Mourning was both a certified nurse’s assistant and certified EMT who was on the path to becoming a registered nurse, according to her obituary.