Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and Somersworth Police Chief David Kretschmar announce that Kelly Flanagan (aka Kelly Silva), age 39, pleaded guilty yesterday in Strafford County Superior Court to selling David Gross the fentanyl that caused his death in Somersworth on October 4, 2016. Ms. Flanagan was sentenced to 10-20 years in the New Hampshire State Prison, with 2½ years of the minimum term suspended. Six months of the suspended portion is conditioned on Ms. Flanagan's successful completion of the Focus program or its equivalent prior to her release from prison. The Focus program is an intensive substance abuse treatment program offered by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections.

As part of the negotiated plea, Ms. Flanagan also pleaded guilty to additional charges of selling a controlled drug, selling a substance represented to be a controlled drug, and possession of a controlled drug with intent to sell, all occurring on October 6, 2016. Ms. Flanagan was sentenced to concurrent 3½–7 year State Prison sentences on each of these three charges.

The charges against Ms. Flanagan stemmed from David Gross's October 4, 2016 overdose death from fentanyl. That day, Somersworth police officers responded to the Somersworth Public Library, where they found Mr. Gross unconscious. Efforts to save his life were unsuccessful.

Investigators learned that Ms. Flanagan had sold fentanyl to Mr. Gross just minutes before his death. They set up a drug buy with Ms. Flanagan on October 6, arresting her that day for possession of fentanyl with the intent to sell. Further investigation over the course of the next few days yielded evidence that Ms. Flanagan had conducted two other drug transactions on October 6, resulting in two additional counts of selling a controlled drug.

The successful prosecution of this case was the result of a joint investigation and collaboration by the Somersworth Police Department and the United State Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of the New Hampshire Department of Justice's Drug Prosecution Unit.