A Montgomery County, woman pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to delivering a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 56-year-old victim who overdosed in Conestoga Township in 2022.
Valerie Benatti, 29 of the 600 block of Meadow Lane, Harleysville, pled guilty to a single charge of drug delivery resulting in death before Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker, who will impose sentence at a later date following a presentence investigation.
The Pennsylvania State Police responded to the 100 block of Slackwater Road, Conestoga Township, for the report of a suspected overdose around 6:18 p.m. on August 20, 2022.
Cell phone data and witness statements revealed Benatti provided the victim with fentanyl the Thursday before the victim died.
The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office determined the victim’s cause of death to be acute fentanyl toxicity.
Benatti admitted to providing the lethal fentanyl to the victim in subsequent interviews with police.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman is prosecuting the case.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Noah Robinson filed charges.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.