Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte reports today that Eric Mansfield, 30 years old, formerly of 4 Allard Street, Exeter, New Hampshire, pled guilty in Rockingham County Superior Court to one count of dispensing a controlled drug with death resulting, and two counts of sale of a controlled drug. Mansfield was sentenced to 5-15 years in the New Hampshire State Prison for dispensing the controlled drug morphine to Sarah Sawicki, resulting in her death, in December of 2001. He was also sentenced to two suspended terms of 3 ˝ - 7 years in the New Hampshire State Prison for selling morphine.

On December 15, 2001, the Newmarket Police Department was dispatched to a Church Street address for a report of a female not breathing. The female was identified as Sarah Sawicki, 21, of Durham. CPR was performed on Sawicki and she was transported to Exeter Hospital, where she died two days later. At the time of her death, Sawicki was a senior at the University of New Hampshire, majoring in biology.

Mansfield was arrested in December of 2007 following a lengthy criminal investigation into the facts and circumstances of Sawicki’s death. The investigation revealed that Sawicki attended a college party in Newmarket on Friday night, December 14, 2001. Mansfield, who was not a UNH student, brought a prescription bottle of morphine pills to the party and dispensed those pills to other persons, including Sawicki. The next morning, Sawicki’s roommates called 911 after waking up and finding her in a comatose state.

This case was investigated by the Newmarket Police Department.

Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte said: “The illegal use of drugs too often has tragic consequences. My Office will continue to vigorously prosecute and upon conviction seek significant prison sentences for drug dealers. Anyone with information on drug dealing should contact your local police department or the New Hampshire State Police at 1-800-NAB-DOPE.”