Middlesex Man Fatally OD'd On Fentanyl, Franklin Woman Arrested

MIDDLESEX BOROUGH, NJ — A Somerset County woman was arrested this March, after police say she provided the drugs that caused a Middlesex borough man to fatally overdose.

The 32-year-old Middlesex borough man was not named by police, but he was found deceased in his home in the borough in December of 2021, said Middlesex Police Chief Matthew Geist. The cause of death was determined to be a fentanyl overdose, the county medical examiner determined.

Jessica A. Simmonds, 29, of Franklin Township in Somerset, was arrested March 25 and was charged with strict liability for a drug-induced death and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.

Middlesex Police Detective Daniel McCue investigated the death, and police say he determined that Simmonds sold the fentanyl to the victim, which caused his death.

Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and it is incredibly easy to overdose on the extremely powerful synthetic drug, according to the CDC. People in New Jersey now take fentanyl instead of heroin, or they take heroin laced with fentanyl. Fentanyl is one of the prime reasons overdose deaths in America have skyrocketed in recent years.

Simmonds was remanded to the Middlesex County Jail, pending a detention hearing in New Brunswick Superior Court.

Anyone with information on this local man's death is asked to call Det. McCue at (732) 356-1900 ext. 312.

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