Cheltenham man admits to role in overdose death of friend

NORRISTOWN >> A Cheltenham man faces some time behind bars and addiction supervision after he admitted to his role in the overdose death of his friend.

Mark Aaron Khusidman, 24, of the unit block of Parkview Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 6 to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession with intent to deliver heroin or fentanyl in connection with the Jan. 13, 2019, overdose death of Conor E. Hussey.

Judge Richard P. Haaz also ordered Khusidman to complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning Khusidman will be under court supervision for about five years. Khusidman also will be placed under addict supervision during his parole and probationary periods, the judge said.

“He feels horrible. (Hussey) was a close friend of his. There’s no consequence of the court that could rival the anguish that he felt from the loss of his friend,” defense lawyer Stephen Geday said on Khusidman’s behalf. “He was devastated about the loss of his friend.”

Hussey’s death occurred after Khusidman purchased what he

believed was heroin and shared it with Hussey, according to court papers. In reality, the substance contained fentanyl, according to court papers.

“It was two friends who essentially independently both had their respective vices. They shared that vice. It happened to be an illegal one and unfortunately in this case a very unhealthy one,” Geday said. “They participated in wanting to consume drugs that evening and unfortunately it was his friend who did not wake up.”

By pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, Khusidman admitted that he caused the death of another person while engaging in an unlawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner.

Khusidman was not charged with a more serious offense of drug delivery resulting in death, which is punishable of decades in prison upon conviction.

“I think all parties involved here recognized this for what it was, which was not a malicious individual consciously dealing drugs as a business habit … ,” said Geday, adding Khusidman cooperated with investigators.

The investigation began about 10:48 a.m. Jan. 13 when Cheltenham police were dispatched to the Parkview Road residence in the Elkins Park section of the township for a report of an unresponsive person. Arriving officers found Hussey in the family room and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

On the floor next to Hussey, investigators found a clear bag that contained an off-white powder residue, according to the criminal complaint filed by county detective Zachary Zeoli and Cheltenham Police Sergeant Joseph O’Neill. Tests on the bag indicated positive findings for fentanyl, court documents indicate.

An autopsy determined Hussey died from multiple drug intoxication, including fentanyl and xylazine, and the manner of death was ruled accidental. The coroner opined Hussey died shortly after ingesting the drugs, according to the criminal complaint.

In court papers, detectives said xylazine, a veterinary sedative used for horses and other animals, is used as a cutting agent for opioids.

During the investigation, Khusidman admitted to detectives that he and Hussey went to Philadelphia on Jan. 12 and that he used $30 provided by Hussey to purchase six vials of what he believed was heroin. The pair then headed back to Khusidman’s residence and divided the vials of heroin and ingested the drugs, detectives alleged.

Khusidman allegedly told detectives he observed Hussey snort two vials of heroin and to be “highly intoxicated” but still responsive. Khusidman said he later checked on Hussey before going to sleep and observed him snoring and “judged at that time that he was not at risk of going into any deeper respiratory depression,” according to the criminal complaint.

“In his own words, Mark Khusidman personally bought and later supplied, what he thought was heroin and later determined to be fentanyl, to Conor Hussey…,” Zeoli and O’Neill wrote in the arrest affidavit.

“They participated in wanting to consume drugs that evening and unfortunately it was his friend who did not wake up. ” — Defense lawyer Stephen Geday