Man Sentenced To Prison In Overdose Death Of East Norriton Woman

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to several years behind bars in the overdose death of a Montgomery County woman who was also his friend.

Christian Talman, 37, of Calumet Street in Philadelphia will spend the next 4 to 8 years behind bars after being convicted of drug delivery resulting in death, a third degree murder charge, according to court documents.

Police said their investigation uncovered a several-days-long text chain between the victim, Lisa Chekemian, also 37, of East Norriton, and Talman, as they negotiated drug prices.

On July 31, the night Chekemian was found dead in her Washington Avenue home, she arranged and paid for Talman to get an Uber to her, authorities said.

Talman put six purple-tinted bags, each containing a white wax bag stamped with the word “WHAM," inside her mailbox, according to police. They noted that he also put a syringe inside.

In text messages, the DA's office said that Talman warned Chekemian to "go slow," and use only a tenth instead of a fifth of a bag at once. Police said this indicated that Talman "knew the drugs were capable of killing her."

Chekemian was found dead on her living room couch by her husband just before 10 p.m. that Sunday.

Police said they confirmed Talman's movements implied in the texts through a search of cellphone data.

Dr. Ian Hood with the Montgomery County Coroner's said that Chekemian's cause of death was fentanyl, xylazine, and amphetamine toxicity.

Talman also faces 10 years of probation upon his release.