For 19th Time, Prosecutor Lodges Manslaughter Charge In Overdose Death

For the 19th time since 2013, Ocean County authorities have charged someone with providing the drugs that led to an overdose death in the county.

County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Brick Township Police Chief Nils “Rick” Bergquist on Tuesday announced the arrest of Christopher T. Marsillo, 28, of Lacey, in the drug-induced death of Gerard Bornemann, 38, of Brick.

Marsillo, arrested Monday, is charged under the state’s strict liability law, with strict liability for a drug-induced death, reckless manslaughter, distribution of heroin, possession of heroin and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, according to Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

Bornemann died Jan. 24 in a home on Drum Point Road, Della Fave said. Brick police responded to a 911 call at 5:17 p.m. and Patrolman Harry Thiebault found Bornemann lying on the bedroom floor unresponsive. Thiebault attempted life-saving measures, including the administration of Narcan, but was unable to revive Bornemann, who was pronounced dead at 6 p.m., Della Fave said. After an autopsy on Jan. 26, the Ocean County medical examiner ruled Bornemann’s death was a result of a heroin overdose.

Investigators from the Brick Township Police Department, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI processed the Drum Point Road scene the day of Bornemann’s death, collecting all evidence of narcotic activity and isolating evidence that would possibly lead to the dealer responsible for selling Bornemann the illegal narcotic. And in the weeks that followed, developed information identifying Marsillo as the suspect, Della Fave said. Investigators found Marsillo allegedly met with Bornemann earlier on Jan. 24, selling him the heroin that led to his death, he said.

Brick Township Police Detective Joseph Lescowski and Ocean County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Unit Detective John Carroll met with Marsillo at his job on March 9 and brought him to the Lacey Police Department to continue the investigation, where he was subsequently placed under arrest.

He is being held at the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, in lieu of $200,000 bail, no 10 percent, set by Superior Court Judge Patricia Roe.

Since Coronato was appointed in March 2013, Della Fave said, the prosecutor’s office has conducted 18 drug-induced death investigations. Coronato has said the strict liability prosecutions are a key part of the multi-pronged effort to combat the soaring heroin problem that has been plaguing Ocean County as a whole.

Of those 18 prosecutions, so far six defendants and two co-defendants have pled guilty to drug charges, Della Fave said.