Heroin brought in by son led to ODs of 5 Philly-area women

During Christmas Day, five women at George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County suffered from heroin overdoses. One of the women died. 

Inquirer.com reports the teenage son of one of the five women smuggled the drugs in. It was reported inmate Kathleen Fisher, 36, of Folcroft told investigators that her son passed her narcotics during a holiday visitation. 

The son is being described as 16 or 17. Fisher shared the drugs with four other women on her floor. 

One of the women Fisher shared the drugs with was 27-year-old Fatima Musa, of Chester. Inquirer.com reported that Musa died Monday after being in a coma for five days. Musa reportedly went into cardiac arrest after overdosing on the drugs and was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City.  

Her family took her off life support after doctors were unable to revive her. 

GEO Group, the private company that runs the jail, refused to comment Thursday about the source of the drugs. They told outlets that the Thornton jail is currently under investigation. 

GEO Group shared a statement to Inquirer.com, saying, “This was a very tragic incident and it cannot be stressed enough that anyone who smuggles illegal narcotics into the facility is not only violating the law but seriously hurting family and friends who are battling drug addiction.” 

The statement continued, “We provide rigorous treatment programs and education to help the more than half of the individuals who are ordered to the facility with a substance addiction to overcome their addictions.”

It was reported that Fisher’s son was driven to the jail by his grandmother. It is unclear at this time if criminal charges will be filed. 

Fisher is no stranger to putting her children in danger. It was reported she was sentenced on Dec. 4 for driving under the influence, drug offenses and endangering the welfare of a child. She was facing one to six years in jail. 

According to the affidavit filed in her arrest, Fisher was found passed out in Upper Chichester Township. She was passed out behind the wheel of her Kia Forte. Officials found empty heroin packages in the passenger seat. They also found her 8-month-old daughter in the backseat, who was “improperly restrained.” The affidavit also said Fisher had capped syringes in a diaper bag.

Jamie Welc, Catherine DeOrio and Nadia Firdaous were the names of the other women who survived the overdoses.