Roommates Get Prison Time for Providing Heroin, Leaving Bartlett Man to Die in Snow

Two former roommates who provided a Bartlett man with the heroin that lead to his death will be headed to prison. Hallie Manning, 45, and Anthony Brown, 46, pleaded guilty to drug induced homicide in connection with the death of John Smrz, 32, of Bartlett, whose body was found in the snow outside the couple’s home during the early morning hours of March 9, 2015, prosecutors said Tuesday.

A DuPage County judge on Tuesday morning sentenced Brown to eight years in prison and sentenced Manning to seven years in prison, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office press release.

An investigation into Smrz’s death revealed Manning provided Smrz with the heroin and she received that heroin from Brown. The investigation also revealed Smrz took the heroin in the Hanover Park apartment shared by Manning and Brown. Once the couple realized Smrz was overdosing, Brown took him outside and left him there, according to the news release.

An autopsy revealed Smrz died of a heroin overdose.

Manning and Brown were charged in connection with Smrz’s death on May 2, 2015, and have been held at the DuPage County Jail on a $2 million bond since then.

“This is a very sad case of a young man who lost his life to heroin,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “To successfully rid our streets from this indiscriminate killer, we must not only continue to educate the public about the potentially deadly consequences of heroin use, we must also send a message to these poison peddlers that they will be caught, they will be prosecuted and they will spend a significant amount of time behind bars.”

Both Manning and Brown will be required to serve 75 percent of their sentence before being eligible for parole.