Man Indicted In Woman's Cocaine Overdose Death In Brick

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township man has been indicted in the cocaine overdose death of a woman in Brick in January, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Roderick J. Seward, 31, was indicted Wednesday on charges of strict liability drug-induced death, distribution of cocaine, and possession of cocaine, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

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The 27-year old woman was found dead from an apparent overdose when police were called to a Brick home about 9:10 a.m. on Jan. 26, authorities said.

Investigators determined Seward had sold her the cocaine, the prosecutor's office said.

A toxicology report confirmed cocaine in the woman's system, and the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the cocaine was the cause of her death, the prosecutor's office said.

Seward was arrested June 17 on the charges when he turned himself in at Brick Township Police headquarters. He remains in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, according to jail records.

Seward additionally has been facing weapons charges in connection with a fatal stabbing in Toms River that resulted from a fight between Seward and another man.

Raniek Mendez of Brick died of stab wounds he suffered trying to break up the fight between Seward and Steven I. McNeill on May 9, 2025, at the home on Adams Avenue.

Seward, who was a cousin of the woman McNeill was dating, was stabbed in the face during the fight, the prosecutor's office said at the time.

He was later charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; investigators determined he had fired a handgun during the fight but no one was injured.