FOLSOM, Calif. — Editor’s note: This story includes mentions of drug use. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use or addiction, support is available by calling 988.
The sun had been up for roughly an hour before Folsom first responders answered the call last year leading to Sacramento County’s first fentanyl overdose murder prosecution. The trial is scheduled to begin in January.
On July 26, 2023, police and firefighters reportedly arrived at the Folsom Ranch Apartments and administered Narcan to 24-year-old Mary Milagro Siryj, but she was soon pronounced dead. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office later determined the cause: toxic effects of fentanyl.
Siryj’s mother, Susan Molina, said her daughter suffered from scoliosis. Siryj received pain management care for it until the COVID-19 pandemic, after which she occasionally took a Xanax or Percocet for some relief.
“She unfortunately met this drug dealer…buying what she thought was a Xanax,” Molina said. “On July 25, she took her last breath thinking she was just going to sleep and never woke up.”
Detectives worked to identify her dealer and set their sights on arresting Ronald James Ehman, 45, of Rancho Cordova. Several law enforcement agencies helped detain Ehman at the Folsom Historic Light Rail Station two days after Siryj died, police said.
Molina said law enforcement pretended to be her daughter to lure Ehman to meet. Siryj often took the Folsom train to work in Rancho Cordova because she didn’t have a car, her mother told ABC10.
Ehman now sits in a cell at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove awaiting trial in Sacramento County Superior Court. Jail records show he faces one felony murder charge and is ineligible for bail. Siryj is the first fentanyl overdose victim in Sacramento County where police then arrested a drug dealer and attempted to prosecute them for murder.
Ehman’s murder trial is scheduled to start the morning of Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Shelly Orio, a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman, said law enforcement’s decision to prosecute fentanyl overdoses as murders is based on unique case factors and evidence. Orio said she couldn’t comment on specific facts of Ehman’s case because it involves pending litigation.
When asked if she agreed with law enforcement’s decision to pursue homicide charges in connection with her daughter’s overdose, Molina said she did.
“Yes, because it’s murder,” Molina said.
Siryj’s case is one of four in Folsom where police detectives reportedly filed murder charges against a dealer. A potential fifth case is under review by the DA’s office pending toxicology, authorities said.
Since Siryj’s death in July 2023, seven people total died of fentanyl overdoses in Folsom, according to the coroner’s office.
Case 2
Folsom first responders’ next case involving a potential murder prosecution came three months later, and the victim was a minor.
Patrol officers and fire personnel responded the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, to Bodnar Court off Iron Point Road, authorities said. Again, they tried administering Narcan among other life-saving efforts, but 14-year-old Nathan Siebensohn was soon pronounced dead. He was killed by acute fentanyl intoxication.
Detectives identified a suspect — also a minor — less than a week later, and they were booked into Sacramento County Juvenile Hall in connection with manslaughter and narcotic sales charges, according to the Folsom Police Department.
The suspect juvenile is currently serving time, and Siebensohn’s case is closed, police said.
Case 3
Folsom police attempted to charge a suspect with murder in a fentanyl overdose last winter, but the DA’s office dismissed the case.
Amber Christel Merrill, 20, died Dec. 6, 2023, of mixed drug intoxication at a residence along Witmer Drive, which parallels Blue Ravine Road in Folsom. Police said they identified a 20-year-old Carmichael man as a suspect and took him into custody two days later.
Authorities said the case was dismissed due to issues with the toxicology report.
“After further consideration of all of the facts and circumstances of the case, we used our inherent discretion to dismiss the case in the interests of justice,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
Case 4
Folsom police’s fourth fentanyl overdose murder investigation centers on the death of 30-year-old Kyle Douglas Barton, a father of four, according to a family-organized fundraiser.
Barton was pronounced dead early Jan. 19 in the Folsom Historic District. He died of mixed fentanyl, meth and ethanol intoxication, the coroner’s office said. Police reportedly arrested Folsom resident Ruslan Viktoravic Kochkin, 35, as a suspect later that day.
Upon his arrest, detectives said they recovered one ounce of fentanyl and one ounce of meth.
Kochkin faces one murder charge and three felony drug charges, according to Sacramento County Main Jail records. He is ineligible for bail and scheduled to appear in court Friday morning for his sixth settlement conference, records show.
Pending: Case 5?
Folsom police said they are investigating a fifth overdose, and the incident is under review by the DA’s office pending toxicology.
The case involves 28-year-old Suyash Vishal Pandey, who died May 19 in Folsom from mixed drug intoxication, according to the coroner’s office.
Pandey was involved in local politics in high school. In June 2013, the Sacramento City Council appointed 17-year-old Pandey to the Sacramento Youth Commission, where he was tasked with advising council and the public on issues relating to youth policies, programs and opportunities, city archives show.
The coroner’s office ruled all five overdoses in which Folsom police consider murder charges as accidents.
The department said in a statement it is committed to keeping the Folsom community safe from drugs and dangers associated with drug sales.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to hold drug dealers accountable for the lives they take,” police said. “Fentanyl has become more and more prevalent in our community, and the Folsom Police Department would like to remind everyone of how dangerous it is. If you or a loved one suffer from drug addiction, please ask for help.”
The free, confidential U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) national helpline for treatment referral can be reached at 1-800-662-4357.
SAMHSA’s free, confidential information service line is 1-800-487-4889. Both are available 24/7, 365 days a year.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use or addiction, support is available by calling 988.
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