Alpharetta Man Gets 20 Years in Heroin Overdose Death

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An Alpharetta man on trial for the heroin-induced death of a friend has pleaded guilty to his part in the March 2014 incident.

Cory Ben-Hanania, 21, entered a guilty plea Friday morning to involuntary manslaughter and distribution of heroin charges for his role in the death of Chelsea Ivanna Bennett, 20, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office said.

Following the plea, Ben-Hanania was sentenced to 20 years, 12 of which he has to serve in prison and the rest on probation by Fulton County Superior Court Judge John Goger.

Bennett died on March 3, 2014, following a heroin overdose at the defendant’s Ridge Oak Place home in Alpharetta.

According to the investigation, Ben-Hanania injected Bennett with heroin, and she soon began to overdose. Instead of seeking help, Ben-Hanania did nothing as the victim suffered in medical distress over the course of seven hours.

After Bennett passed away, the defendant “then began taking steps to conceal her death including deleting text messages from the victim’s phone and stashing syringes in her shirt and car,” the DA’s office said.

Meanwhile, the victim’s parents, who were concerned about her whereabouts after she failed to return home, tracked their daughter to the defendant’s home. Paramedics who were called to the scene attempted to revive the victim.

She was transported to the hospital, but was pronounced dead.

The DA’s office said Ben-Hanania initially lied to police about his involvement and even tried to blame his friend Sebastian Andrade, who was visiting with him and Bennett on the night of the incident, for the victim’s death.

Andrade in December pleaded guilty to a single count of concealing the death of another and was sentenced to five years’ probation. Kevin McCaffrey, a third indicted co-defendant who admitted selling drugs to the defendant, pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin in connection with the crime.

He was sentenced to four years in prison followed by one year in a rehab center. Ben-Hanania’s plea followed several days of testimony presented by the state.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Pete Johnson and Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Lance Cross with assistance from DA Investigators Terence Wise and Terri Jackson. Detective David Bochniak of the Alpharetta Police Department led the initial investigation.

Image via Shutterstock