New filing in OD case
A Butler County woman will be facing additional criminal charges in relation to her alleged overdose — which resulted in her baby being prematurely delivered — after a county judge ordered a new preliminary hearing following court proceedings on Wednesday.
Judge William Shaffer heard arguments regarding the case against Kasey R. Dischman, 30, who was initially charged with felony aggravated assault of an unborn child following her alleged June 22 overdose. Dischman was formally arraigned on that charge on Tuesday.
The Butler County District Attorney's Office sought to include additional charges — misdemeanor endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and possession of a controlled substance — based on evidence that Dischman's 6-year-old daughter was also present in the house at the time of the overdose, and that a hypodermic needle was found there.
Shaffer issued the order Wednesday afternoon, directing Court Administration to schedule a preliminary hearing on the new charges, according to officials with his office. A new court date was not immediately available.
Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford said an additional investigation that was conducted after the initial filing led to the new charges.
Pitchford argued during the proceeding that the new charges were supported through testimony of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Brian Knirnschild at the preliminary hearing for the felony charge.
“Through the filing of the affidavit and testimony at the preliminary hearing, the defendant was on notice of these criminal offenses,” Pitchford said.
Dischman's attorney, Public Defender Joseph Smith argued that no testimony was presented at the preliminary hearing regarding these new charges and only one sentence in the affidavit of probable cause referred to the 6-year-old child.
Smith also argued that under Pennsylvania's Good Samaritan law, which provides immunity from prosecution for those reporting or experiencing overdoses, Dischman cannot be charged with the paraphernalia charge.
“My client cannot be charged,” Smith said. “Under the statute she is immune from this charge.”
Pitchford argued that the statute clearly states that those present must cooperate with investigators, and Dishman's boyfriend and father of her two children, 30-year-old Andrew Lucas, “did not cooperate with police, lied and hid evidence.”
Smith requested the denial of the motion, but if not denied, wished to have a preliminary hearing on the new charges to cross examine investigators.
“There was no evidence presented at the preliminary hearing to support these charges,” he said. “And we can't cross-examine an affidavit.”
Authorities said Dischman was seven months pregnant at the time of the incident, causing her to undergo a cesarean section and deliver a baby girl prematurely, who required life support for at least a week and will suffer lasting injuries from her exposure to heroin.
This was just over a week after Dischman had been released from Butler County Prison for serving six months on a felony retail theft charge, according to court records.
Following the proceeding, Smith said he intends to refile a challenge to the felony charge, which was previously denied by Shaffer, arguing that the criminal statute under which she is charged — the Crimes Against the Unborn Child Act — contains language that expressly exempts pregnant women from prosecution for harming their own unborn children.
“It's ripe for litigation now,” he said.
Dischman was charged after police said she injected a bag of heroin found beneath her couch, allegedly overdosed on the floor of her bathroom, and was later found by Lucas who called 911.
Police said Lucas denied there was drug activity at the home, but later acknowledged he had used heroin. Dischman later would also admit that she injected herself with heroin she found under the couch, police said.
She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest, before being flown to UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh and subsequently placed on a ventilator. While there, blood work determined that opioids were in her system and she was then transferred to UPMC Magee-Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh, undergoing the emergency C-section.
Following her arrest, Dischman was resentenced to six months in Butler County Prison for a parole violation stemming from the overdose, where she is also being held on $500,000 cash bail in this case.
Smith reported that he was unaware of the condition of the child at this time, but at the time of the preliminary hearing he was informed that the baby was improving.
