Key Points
- Roderick Seward, 31, of Brick Township was indicted Wednesday in connection with the drug-related death of a 27-year-old woman.
- Prosecutors allege Seward supplied cocaine to the woman before her Jan. 26 death, and the medical examiner determined cocaine caused her death.
- Seward faces strict liability drug-induced death, cocaine distribution and cocaine possession charges and has been jailed since June 17.
BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ — A cocaine sale allegedly ended with a 27-year-old woman dead from an overdose, and now a Brick Township man accused of supplying the drug has been indicted on a charge that could hold him criminally responsible for her death.
An Ocean County grand jury indicted Roderick Seward, 31, Wednesday on charges of strict liability drug-induced death, distribution of cocaine and possession of cocaine, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
The case stems from the woman’s death on Jan. 26.
Brick Township police responded to a residence at approximately 9:10 a.m. that day after receiving a report of an unresponsive woman.
Officers found the 27-year-old already dead from what appeared to be a drug overdose, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
An investigation involving the prosecutor’s Major Crime Unit and Narcotics Strike Force, Brick Township Police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit allegedly determined that Seward supplied cocaine to the woman.
Toxicology testing later confirmed cocaine was present in her system, prosecutors said.
The Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the cocaine caused her death, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Seward was charged June 17 with strict liability drug-induced death and the related cocaine offenses.
He surrendered at Brick Township Police Headquarters that day and was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where prosecutors said he has remained.
The grand jury returned the indictment Wednesday.
The woman’s identity was not released in the prosecutor’s announcement.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke presented the case to the grand jury.
The charges are accusations. Seward is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
