'It should have been me': NJ woman sentenced to probation in Falls motel drug death

Monique Murzda was with Curtis Bucchi when he was found unresponsive in a Falls motel last year.

Bucchi, 52, had fatally overdosed on drugs that Murzda purchased for the two of them.

She stayed at the scene, and later cooperated with investigators, who were able to identify the two who provided her with the drugs that caused Bucchi's death.

"Without Monique, this serious crime, this loss of a life would be another unsolved crime," Falls Detective John Vella said.

On Thursday, Murzda, of Jersey City, was sentenced to three years of probation for her role in Bucchi's overdose death. Her drug dealers, Darrell Coasey, 46, and Shari Beth Abend, 46, both of New Jersey, were sentenced earlier to years in prison.

Murzda and Bucchi were in a relationship and had been staying at the New Falls Motel on Lincoln Highway for several months when Murdza bought crack cocaine and fentanyl from Coasey and Abend the night of Feb. 25, 2022.

Bucchi died the next day from a mixture of fentanyl and Xlyazine, which is typically used by veterinarians to sedate large animals. It is a cutting agent for heroin and fentanyl. The drug also known as "tranq" is on the rise in Bucks County, officials said.

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Assistant District Attorney Catherine Pirolli told Judge Raymond McHugh that Murdza had been helpful in the investigation because she wanted to do right by Bucchi. Without her cooperation, Vella said, detectives would have nothing.

"The victim and his family would have no justice whatsoever," he said.

Investigators coordinated a drug purchase from Coasey and Abend using Murdza's phone on the day of Bucchi's death. Coasey and Abend were arrested after selling her drugs later that day, court documents state.

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Murdza, who struggled with drugs, has been sober for several months and remains in treatment. She's kept in contact with Vella, who said he was one of her biggest champions for her progress, weekly since Bucchi's death.

Pirolli, who has interacted with Murdza several times since Bucchi's death, commended her for her progress.

"She looks so much better," she said.

Murdza apologized, and said she will work to make sure what happened never happens again.

"It should have been me," Murdza told the judge as she wiped away tears. "It shouldn't have been him."

Murdza, Coasey and Abend were all charged with drug delivery resulting in death and related offenses in May.

Murdza pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, possession of drugs with intent to deliver, and conspiracy to commit those offenses.

Coasey, of Hamilton, and Abend, of Trenton, pleaded guilty to drug delivery resulting in death and conspiracy to commit that offense. Coasey was sentenced to seven to 20 years in prison, and Abend was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

What is drug delivery resulting in death in Pennsylvania?

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Someone may be charged with drug delivery resulting in death if investigators believe someone provided drugs that led to another person's death.

Between 2017 and 2021, Bucks County accounted for 5% of the total drug delivery resulting in death cases statewide, according to a state courts report. There were 64 people charged with the offense during that five-year period.

Opioid usage has been an issue in Bucks County and nationwide for several years. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is cheaper and more potent than heroin, remains the main drug problem in Bucks County.