Trial ordered in body dumping
FRANKLIN, Venango County — All charges against a man accused of giving a woman a fatal dose of fentanyl and dumping her body in Butler County were held for court Wednesday.
District Judge Matthew Kirkland at the end of a preliminary hearing ordered a trial in the case against Shaun M. Long, 50, of Scrubgrass Township, Venango County.
Long faces one felony count of drug delivery resulting in death, two counts of felony hindering apprehension, involuntary manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, false reports, tampering with evidence and obstructing the administration of law charges.
State police allege that on Sept. 16 Kayla Dunlap, 28, of Rimersburg, Clarion County, overdosed on fentanyl and amphetamines and died in Long's trailer in the Emlenton area.
Co-defendant Grace A. O'Day of Kennerdell, Venango County, allegedly told police that she also was present that night and that Long refused to administer medical care or seek help for Dunlap, and the two of them later dumped her body along Lake Road in Oakland Township near Oneida Valley Dam.
Dunlap, a Keystone High School graduate, worked as a nursing assistant at a nursing home, according to her obituary.
O'Day testified Wednesday that she and Dunlap were both getting high in Long's trailer. O'Day was drifting in an out of consciousness and at one point came-to and discovered that Dunlap appeared to be not breathing. O'Day said she urged Long to call 911 or seek medical attention for Dunlap. After he refused, O'Day proceeded to shoot up another time, she said.
Trooper Christopher Balcik testified that police carried out a search warrant on Long's phone and determined that it was in the area of Oakland Township on the night Dunlap's body was allegedly abandoned.
Defense attorney J.D. Ryan did not object to the abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and false reports charges, but asked Kirkland to dismiss the drug delivery resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter charges. O'Day's testimony was hearsay because she did not claim to see Long give any drugs to Dunlap, Ryan argued.
Also, police did not find any fentanyl in Long's trailer when it was searched, he said.
District Attorney D. Shawn White countered that there was strong circumstantial evidence that Long was Dunlap's drug dealer, including the fact that Dunlap and O'Day were found in possession of identical stamp bags.
“There is no need to remove the body if you didn't give drugs to that person that resulted in their death. You dial 911, because you're innocent,” White said.
O'Day, who is being held in Venango County Prison on $25,000 bail, waived to court misdemeanor criminal conspiracy — abuse of a corpse, criminal conspiracy — tamper with physical evidence and false reports to law enforcement.
Long also faces two felony drug possession charges filed after police seized methamphetamine and paraphernalia from his trailer when carrying out a search warrant in October. Those charges were held for court in November. He remains held in jail without bail.
