A Butler man has been sentenced to prison after the overdose death of a Butler woman led to his arrest.

Thomas A. Purcell, 28, was arrested and charged with possession of drugs with the intent to deliver following the 2018 overdose death of the woman, according to police records.

Purcell pleaded guilty to the felony charge Dec. 22, and Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCune sentenced him Jan. 28 to three to 10 years in prison.

Purcell originally was charged Oct. 19, 2019, and faced a number of felonies, including drug delivery resulting in death, which is the equivalent of third-degree murder under state law.

Those charges were dropped as part of a plea deal Purcell reached with prosecutors. Purcell also received 315 days of credit for time already served.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella, assigned to the case, could not be reached for comment.

Lab results determined that Ashley M. McKissick, 27, died in November 2018 from a combination of fentanyl and cocaine, according to the Butler County Coroner's Office.

Police linked Purcell to providing her with heroin during two drug deals in front of a funeral home leading up to her death.

State narcotics agent Douglas Brink testified during a preliminary hearing in 2019 that McKissick was found unresponsive Nov. 13, 2018, at an East Brady Street home where she lived with her mother. The coroner ruled that she died of a combined drug toxicity of fentanyl and cocaine.

Brink, who filed the charges, said McKissick's mother told police her daughter was asleep in her bed when she left their home to go to work that morning. But when she returned, she found her daughter unconscious on the couch. She called 911 around 8 p.m.

“I remember those sleepless nights worrying about my daughter, wondering if she's going to be alive, and I don't want that for any parent,” Donna McKissick said.

McKissick recalled that she was working as an inpatient therapist with the Gaiser Addiction Center, and went home after work.

“And I got home late and found her,” McKissick said.

McKissick said that attempts to revive her daughter with the countermeasure naloxone (Narcan) drug were unsuccessful.

“It's hard,” McKissick said. “I was familiar with the Narcan training, and to have it not work at that moment was very sad. I believe God had a different plan for Ashley, and I have to find peace with that.”

McKissick said that as a recovering addict herself, she understands the struggles of drug addiction. She attended Purcell's sentencing, where she gave a victim impact statement and remembers her and others were crying.

“I tried to speak as a mom to the judge and speak to Tommy as an addict,” she said. “I know Tommy outside all this. I could have easily been sitting in that chair when I was using. I get how addicts work and what they do, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have to be accountable.”

McKissick said that she is satisfied with Purcell's punishment.

“I feel bad about the whole thing,” McKissick said. “I wish my daughter would have gotten clean and sober, and I know she wanted to do just that with everything in her. But God had a different plan.”

Erica Boltz also noted Ashley's loving nature and said that Ashley was beautiful “inside and out. She just loved people and she loved kids and her family.”

Boltz said that she tried to help Ashley stay sober.

“Ashley tried really hard. She was a warrior. When she was knocked down she would pick herself up and try at it again. I believe she loved life and wanted sobriety, but it was hard for her.”

McKissick said she hopes that Purcell will be able to use his time in prison to make improvements in his life.

“Ashley, if she taught me anything, it was unconditional love and forgiveness,” McKissick said. “And I tried to show that now and practice the things she taught me. I forgive him, and want him to do well and get clean and sober.”