An Oakland Township woman claimed she was giving her daughter money, not the drugs that killed her when the two of them met at a laundromat April 16, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing Monday.

Nichole Saeler, 46, appeared before District Judge William Fullerton. She was wearing an ankle monitor, a condition of her non-monetary bond on two felony charges, including drug delivery resulting in death and criminal use of a communication facility. The charges are tied to the overdose death of her daughter, Skylor Saeler.

Saeler stated she went to a Butler laundromat to give her daughter money and to view Skylor's recently purchased vehicle, Butler Patrolman Andrew Niederlander testified.

During cross-examination by defense attorney Michael Zunder, Niederlander said he interviewed Saeler, who denied giving her daughter drugs in the parking lot of the laundromat. Niederlander said Saeler claimed she was giving her daughter money and wanted to see the new car.

“(Nichole Saeler) does get out to look at the car,” said Niederlander from his recollection of video evidence.

Earlier during examination by Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford, Niederlander described the recorded interaction between Saeler and her daughter.

“You can see Nichole hand something to Skylor, and when Skylor receives it, you can see she grabs it quickly and puts it in her pocket,” Niederlander said.

Niederlander, who is also a detective with the Butler County Drug Task Force, noted the behavior is consistent with drug deals.

Zunder also brought to the court's attention that a woman was seen exiting Skylor Saeler's apartment the night of her death.

Niederlander said the woman was a friend of Skylor Saeler, and the pair frequently used drugs together. Niederlander said the friend left after awakening to find Saeler unresponsive.

Zunder asked Niederlander if the woman could have brought the drugs with her. Niederlander said the woman was interviewed by police, which was recorded with video and audio.

“In her interview, she said they had purchased the drugs from Skylor's mom,” Niederlander said.

Zunder asked why the woman left in the midst of Skylor Saeler's overdose. Niederlander said a different police department, which he did not specify, had told the woman that if she was involved with another overdose, they would arrest her.

Zunder pointed out there are laws in place to protect people who call 911 regarding overdoses, but Niederlander said he could not speak to the woman's understanding of these protections.

“As I said, she was scared,” Niederlander said. “In fear of being arrested, she exited (through) the window.”

Niederlander said he was able to match the timeline of the alleged drug hand-off from multiple videos to text messages between the mother and daughter.

Niederlander said the text messages allude to Nichole Saeler buying drugs for her daughter, and it includes jargon typically used in drug deals. He said there also were two texts after the alleged transaction that included Nichole Saeler warning her daughter.

“Nichole then says to Skylor, 'Be careful on these,' followed by '2 of them knocked the mom out she remember anything don't mix them bennies and these,'” said Niederlander in the affidavit.

“Skylor then says to Nichole, 'I have Narcan just in case,' to which Nichole replies, 'K that doesn't always work.'”

Niederlander said they later found empty stamp bags in Skylor Saeler's kitchen and her cellphone near her body. He said a search warrant was received to look at the texts referenced in court Monday and charging documents.

According to court documents, Skylor's autopsy reported her cause of death due to overdose on a mixture of fentanyl and Clonazepam.

Zunder later made no argument to Fullerton regarding the charges, which the judge moved forward to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

Zunder asked for a downgrade of the non-monetary bail to remove the monitor fastened to his client's ankle.

Pitchford gave only a brief argument against that motion.

“I think electronic monitoring is more than generous for this bond,” she said.

Fullerton agreed, ruling the ankle monitor will remain in place.

Saeler is scheduled for a formal arraignment Sept. 28 in county court.