Woman pleads guilty in overdose death
Incident deemed Albany’s 12th homicide
A woman pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter Tuesday morning in connection with the overdose death of 24-year-old Keisha Richards, who was found in a snowbank in March, District Attorney David Soares said.
The Albany County district attorney’s office told the Times Union on Tuesday that Richards’ death is being treated as a homicide and therefore is the
12th homicide in Albany this year.
Jodi Noisseau, 48, of Albany, pleaded guilty to the felony in Albany County Supreme Court. She is one of three, along with Christopher Kondracki and Tamale Harris, who have been charged in connection to the case.
Soares said that on March 14 and into March 15 Noisseau and Harris “recklessly caused the death” of Richards, a Vermont woman.
Instead of calling emergency services when Richards overdosed, Soares said, Noisseau and possibly others transported her from Columbia Turnpike in the city of Rensselaer to a Partridge Street residence in Albany.
Once at the residence, Richards was left there for 12 hours without any medical attention, Soares said.
Police also alleged that Noisseau and Kondracki wiped Richards’ body with bleach to try to destroy evidence.
Richards was discarded in a snowbank, where she was later discovered. She was given CPR at the scene and taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Noisseau faces up to 15 years in state prison.
Both Kondracki and Harris have open and pending cases and pleaded not guilty on separate dates. Both were charged with second-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a human corpse, all felonies, and with conspiracy, a misdemeanor, Soares announced in a news release earlier this month.
The last time the city had more than 12 homicides in one year was 2000.
Since 1985, the city has averaged 7.76 homicides a year.
According to statistics compiled by the FBI, Albany experienced the most homicides in 1987, when 16 people were killed. Fifteen people were killed in 2000, and 13 died in 1994.
In the statistics they send to the FBI, Albany police include homicides carried out by police even if the conduct of the officer is found to be justified.