Man charged in connection to woman’s death

Charged with involuntary manslaughter; provided lethal drugs

A Whipple man accused of providing lethal drugs to a Marietta woman saw his bond set at $250,000 Wednesday.

Darin M. Craig, 24, of 615 Dalzell Road, was arrested Tuesday evening and arraigned in Marietta Municipal Court Wednesday morning for alleged connection with the overdose death of Samantha D. Seevers, 24, of Marietta, on Sept. 17.

“She was found behind the air conditioner back behind Speedway on Seventh Street,” described Marietta Police Capt. Aaron Nedeff. “She had her phone on her and a kit for shooting heroin at the time.”

But further investigation into Seevers’ death led Marietta police down the route of drug acquisition.

“There was a message (Craig) had sent her accusing her of ripping him off, which confirmed they had met,” said Nedeff. “So regardless of if the drugs were stolen from him, no matter what he had the stuff and had every intention of committing a felony of trafficking the drugs.”

Washington County Coroner Dr. Kenneth Leopold’s report to MPD determined Seevers’ cause of death was from a fentanyl overdose.

“And the syringe found on the scene and the cap she used to cook up the heroin both field-tested for fentanyl, there were plenty of residues left,” said Nedeff. “So between those and the text messages, we had a pretty good read that the drugs had come from Darin, but we were waiting for drug results to get back from the state (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) lab.”

Craig stands charged of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony.

“So he could potentially get 10 years in prison, maximum,” said Nedeff. “He was committing a felony, and someone died because of it.”

The police captain said other specifics of the case–Seevers grabbing the bag of heroin off of Craig before “bailing out” of the car along Glendale Road–aren’t factors in the death.

“He had set up to sell it to her, whether she stole it and took off running without shoes or not, he provided the drugs that had fentanyl,” he continued. “We had had several run-ins with her before that date, all crimes like theft to fund the drug habit.”

Craig’s preliminary hearing is scheduled in Marietta Municipal Court for Oct. 16 at 3 p.m.

Janelle Patterson can be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.