Disbelief In Cape May County; 13 Years Old, Dead From Heroin, Fentanyl

You've heard it many times: Someone mixes heroin and fentanyl, the two most powerful drugs there are, and now they're dead. You'll hear the talk: He wasn't the type, nobody knew.

But 13 years old? Barely out of Cub Scouts? It's just not possible.

Yet, this is what happened to Vinny Weiner, a 13-year-old boy from the Rio Grande section of Middle Township in Cape May County. Somehow, Weiner got a hold of both deadly drugs. He was found dead June 4.

And now there's an obituary of a life too short to have many items listed in it. His top accomplishments: He was on the school wrestling team. And he was a former Cub Scout with Pack 6.

Authorities say Vinny was found unresponsive in his bed at about 10:12 a.m. that morning. He was killed by the deadly mix of heroin and fentanyl, Cape May County Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor and Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner announced on Monday.

Fentanyl is an "extremely powerful and deadly" drug that's approximately 100 times more potent than heroin, according to authorities. It is the drug that also killed Prince and thousands of others.

AtlantiCare medics responded to the scene, but the boy was pronounced dead. He died sometime during the night, authorities believe.

The community is now shaking its head in disbelief. How could someone who didn't even make it to eighth grade die of something that normally kills older teens and adults?

Vinny's mother, Jamie Lund, took to social media to tell the world of her son's death and said something needs to be done. "Whoever is supplying these babies with drugs, needs to be stopped!," Lund said. "My heart is broken, shattered into a million pieces."

Others are supporting her rallying cry.

"I want more then anything the person responsible for this drug getting into his systems to pay," wrote a friend of Vinny's mother on Facebook. "They should be charged with MURDER."

"When used illegally, fentanyl is converted to a powder form by drug distributors and mixed at a dangerous and uncontrolled level with heroin,” according to the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office.

But how did a 13-year-old know? That's what has puzzled so many people, including those who know Lund and came up with their own theories.

"As I told other people, the drug dealers are now making the drugs look like candies and telling these kids thats what it is," one of Vinny's mother's friends wrote on social media. "The only person who will ever know the truth is Vinny, and he can't tell us what happened. I do believe that someone gave it to him in a candy form and he did not know what it really was."

Even in his short life, Vinny was engaged in service activities and church functions on top of being in the Cub Scouts. His obituary said he was an active member at Seashore Community Church of The Nazarene, where he enthusiastically participated in the youth programs and the Bible quiz team.

He was also described as a "goofy" kid with a good sense of humor. Much of that was reflected in the photos on Lund's Facebook page, which showed many of the funny photos Vinny made using Snapchat.

In the weeks leading up to his death, however, Lund grew worried because he was bullied. There had been unusual behavior at school, Lund told NBC10 Philadelphia, and it was discovered that he had been cutting.

Closer to the day he died, more stories of bullying in school began to surface. But no one — not Jamie Lund, not anybody — could have predicted this outcome. "My baby changed my life in so many ways," she said.

Jamie Lund, Vinny Weiner photo courtesy of NBC10 Philadelphia

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