TOMS RIVER, NJ – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer has announced that Natalie Sabie, 35, of Lacey Township, has pleaded guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter and Endangering the Welfare of a Child in connection with the death of her two-year-old son on September 7, 2022, in Lacey Township.
On September 7, 2022, officers from the Lacey Township Police Department responded to a residence following a report that a two-year-old male was found unresponsive by his mother, Natalie Sabie. Despite the efforts of the responding officers and paramedics, the child was pronounced deceased at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Further investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lacey Township Police Department, and Lacey Township Police Department Detective Bureau revealed that Sabie was responsible for the child’s care on September 7th when he was found unresponsive. The investigation also uncovered that the child had access to illegal narcotics while under his mother’s care.
On September 9, 2022, a post-mortem examination was performed on the child by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office. Initially, the results of the examination were inconclusive pending toxicology analysis. However, on October 12, 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office received the toxicology report, which revealed a significant amount of fentanyl in the child’s system. Based on this report, a forensic pathologist concluded that the child’s cause of death was acute fentanyl intoxication.
Following these findings, on October 14, 2022, Sabie was taken into custody and charged in connection with her son’s death. She has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since her apprehension and will await her sentencing hearing in September.
The plea was made before Judge Guy P. Ryan, P.J.Cr.P. During the sentencing on September 8, 2023, the State will be seeking a ten-year term in New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, for the Aggravated Manslaughter charge, and a five-year term in NJSP for the Endangering charge. The sentences will run consecutively.