Jaquan Casserly, of Holbrook, pleads guilty to selling fentanyl that led to fatal overdose of Chelsey Murray, of Lake Grove

A Holbrook man has pleaded guilty to charges of selling fentanyl that led to the 2022 fatal overdose of a Lake Grove woman, whose parents have been lobbying for stronger laws to combat the opioid addiction crisis.

Jaquan Casserly, 34, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sale of a substance before Judge Steven A. Pilewski on Friday in the death of Chelsey Murray, 31, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Christopher Brocato, Casserly’s lawyer, said his client expressed remorse for Murray’s death, as he also suffered from a drug addiction.

“At the time of her death, Mr. Casserly was a drug addict and was using the same drugs he sold to Ms. Murray. He understands and is remorseful for his role in her death,” Brocato said. “He took this plea so Ms. Murray’s family wouldn’t have to relive this tragedy during a trial.”

Casserly is expected to be sentenced next month to 10 years in prison, followed by 3 years of post-release supervision, Tierney said.

On Aug. 18, 2022, Murray's mother found her unresponsive in a bathroom, according to court documents and Casserly’s plea.

When police responded to Murray’s home, they administered Narcan, which works to reverse the effects of fentanyl, and she regained a pulse.

Murray was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where she died several days later, prosecutors said.

Following Murray’s hospitalization, an undercover detective from the Suffolk County Police Department contacted Casserly and arranged for a sale of narcotics.

Casserly sold the detective a combination of heroin and fentanyl contained in a red glassine envelope, which police established was similar to the one that Murray's father, Eugene, found in the bathroom where Murray overdosed, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 27, 2022, police executed a search warrant at Casserly’s Holbrook home and recovered a combination of heroin and fentanyl, a digital scale used to weigh narcotics, red and black glassine/wax envelopes used to package narcotics, a pair of metal knuckles and Casserly’s cellphone.

The red envelopes were similar to the ones sold to the undercover detective. A search of Casserly’s phone showed he had arranged to meet Murray on Aug. 7, 2022, offering to sell her “fetty mix,” a street term used to describe a mix of fentanyl and heroin, prosecutors said.

“Not only do these greedy dealers supply deadly drugs to vulnerable individuals, but they also can literally kill them with just a tiny amount,” Tierney said.

In January, Murray’s parents joined Tierney in Albany to call on lawmakers to pass Chelsey’s Law, which would charge a drug dealer with manslaughter or aggravated manslaughter for knowingly selling a drug that causes fatal overdoses.

Murray’s parents, who also lost a son to a fatal overdose, said they were happy to hear of the guilty plea and were grateful for Tierney and his team’s efforts in the case.

“They jumped on that case right away and that's why they were able to get such a mountain of evidence against him,” Eugene Murray said.

Murray’s parents said they did not believe Casserly’s statement of remorse, as he continued to sell drugs after their daughter’s death.

Eugene Murray said his daughter was a college graduate working in retail at the time of her death.

He described her as being best friends with her mother, Susan Murray, adding Chelsey had been three years sober and planning on going back to school to become a drug addiction treatment counselor.

“This could happen to anybody,” Eugene Murray said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re lower class, middle class, upper class.”