Cops in Maryland have arrested a dentist for second-degree murder after he provided his much younger girlfriend drugs from work on which she fatally overdosed.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) on Tuesday, 22nd March, which said: “A Montgomery County Dentist has been arrested and faces multiple felony charges after being arrested at his dental practice.
“Dr. James Ryan, an oral surgeon with a practice on Observation Drive in Germantown, was arrested the morning of Tuesday, March 22 and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 25-year-old Sarah Harris.
“Harris, a former patient of 48-year-old Ryan, began working in Ryan’s practice as a surgical technician in October of 2020. They began a romantic relationship around January of 2021, while she worked at Ryan’s practice. The two lived together in Ryan’s Clarksburg home. The relationship between the two continued until her fatal overdose on January 26, 2022. Ryan had been providing controlled substances, including Propofol, Ketamine, Diasepam, and midazolam, to Harris.
“On January 26, Montgomery County Police 5th District officers responded to the 13900 block of Godwit Street in Clarksburg, for an overdose. Montgomery County Fire Rescue responded and attempted life-saving measures, but Sarah Harris was pronounced dead on the scene.
“Montgomery county police arrested Dr. Ryan following an extensive investigation and he is being held in the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit without bond.”
Charging documents obtained by Newsflash from the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County reveal that the suspect obtained the “controlled dangerous substances” through his dental practice, which the documents named as Evolution Oral Surgery, where Dr Ryan performed “oral and maxillofacial surgery”.
The documents also reveal that, on the day of the incident, “Ryan stated to MCPD personnel that he went to bed at approximately 2230 hours and the victim (Sarah Harris) stayed downstairs and was okay when he went to bed. Ryan further stated he came downstairs the next morning (January 26th, 2022) to find Sarah Harris unresponsive on the couch with used hypodermic needles and various vials of controlled dangerous substances bottles nearby.”
The charging documents also say that during the pair’s relationship, “[t]he Harris family began to see physical changes in Sarah Harris” and that her sister, Rachel, “report[ed] that Sarah did not look well”.
The documents additionally reveal that conversations between Dr Ryan and Harris were “very frank and often depict Sarah Harris asking Ryan to procure/obtain different drugs during that time period”.
The charging documents reveal that Dr Ryan has been formally charged with several crimes, of which the most serious is “murder-second degree”. Other charges include “reckless endangerment” or relate to the possession and distribution of controlled dangerous substances.
The suspect is reportedly next due in court on the morning of 15th April.
