WOODSTOCK — The mother of a 26-year-old Hartford woman who died from a drug overdose nearly eight years ago rebuked state prosecutors for what she described as letting the dealer who sold her daughter the fatal suspected heroin off the hook.
At the same time, the woman who pleaded guilty in the case said she accepted blame for the overdose death and is committed to turning her life around, according to an audio recording of the Nov. 26 sentencing hearing..
The emotional exchange of statements came during the sentencing of Victoria Thompson in Windsor County Court in Woodstock on Nov. 26. Even Thompson’s attorney choked up when recalling how she pleaded with her own client not to “die on me” as the 32-year-old defendant struggled with substance abuse.
Thompson pleaded guilty to a charge of selling suspected heroin to a co-worker, who suffered an overdose death shortly after taking the drug in 2018. Thompson, who also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor drug-possession charges, was sentenced to one to five years in state prison, with all but 135 days suspended — for which she received credit for time already served — and probation for six years.
The victim’s loved ones decried the sentence as what they see as another example of the weakness of Vermont’s judicial system when it comes to holding defendants accountable for their crimes. The fact that Thompson, who despite facing years behind bars if she breaks any of the numerous conditions under her plea agreement, is avoiding prison was denounced by Terri Martin, mother of the overdose victim, Nikki Martin.
Terri Martin said that although her daughter died nearly eight years ago, her family — especially her daughter’s children who at the time were ages 5 and 1 at the time — has suffered as the criminal case ground on.
“My granddaughters went through hell. They’re still in therapy,” Terri Martin said through a statement read by the victim’s advocate.
“We have no closure, and they have no closure,” Terri Martin said.
“Nothing is being done, but just talk,” Terri Martin said. Thompson “should serve some time, not this 90 day crap. It feels like nobody cares about their mother. The youngest child is teased for not having a mother, and she hears what other kids do with their mothers and she does not.”
“Victoria has not served any time for anything she has done,” Terri Martin said.
Terri Martin told the Valley News last week she did not want to comment further.
At the hearing, Vermont Deputy State’s Attorney Arthur Brown said that an “integral part” of Thompson’s plea agreement was “based largely on her performance” at Jenna’s Promise, a residential recovery program in Johnson, Vt.
“To the best of my knowledge she’s performed satisfactorily,” Brown said, in recommending the court accept the plea agreement.
In explaining why it took three years to charge Thompson and eight years for the case to reach a conclusion, Brown said that “there are usually reasons charges remain pending for those amounts of times.”
Thompson had been arrested and held on other other charges during that period, he pointed out, which led her to a “failure to participate in resolutions” in the current case.
Taking the case of Martin’s death to trial might have been a challenge, Brown said, given the difficulty in attributing an overdose death to a particular drug when other factors could come into play. Brown said based on the facts in the case there was a possibility that a “reasonable doubt” could be raised at trial “that other drugs were the cause of the death.”
Faced with that uncertainty, “a big draw for the state of this agreement is that Ms. Thompson does acknowledge responsibility for (her) very serious conduct,” he said.
“It does appear that she’s turning things around,” Brown said of Thompson. “These probation conditions are designed to ensure first steps in that direction continue — and if they don’t, the state has tools” to ensure public safety with the threat of prison time.
Jordana Levine, Thompson’s defense attorney, said she has known her client since she was 16 years old.
Drug addiction has “been a lifelong struggle for her. I know she is incredibly remorseful for all of the actions that she has taken throughout her life — not just limited to this case,” Levine said. “She has chosen to take responsibility.”
Levine read two testimonials from staff at Jenna’s Promise that praise Thompson’s participation in the program.
In an unusually personal turn for an attorney, Levine also related her own experience with Thompson, who entered Jenna’s Promise on Oct. 1 directly from a recovery stay at Valley Vista.
As part of the “work” at Jenna’s Promise, Thompson was required to “reach out to people who have helped her along the way,” Levine noted. So when Thompson sent Levine a letter with her three-month sobriety coin, it was a profound moment.
“I can’t tell the court how many times I told Victoria she couldn’t die on me and that I needed her to want to be here as much as everybody who cared about her,” Levine said, choking up.
“I’m so sorry that Nikki did not have that same opportunity. But I am just so grateful that Victoria does and that she’s here,” said Levine, the emotion evident in her voice.
Asked by Judge Elizabeth Mann if she wanted to address the court, Thompson confessed to her “addiction and the mistakes I’ve made.”
“I never thought that my choices would lead to harming another person … I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for that. I don’t blame the (the victim’s) family if they don’t. I’m very sorry for what I’ve done and I know that words only speak so much.”
“I’m sorry,” Thompson said later, repeating herself twice more. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Before granting approval of the plea agreement and sentence, Mann noted that “there is no real closure on these issues except that the case comes to an end … the emotional scars will remain.”
Striking a hopeful note, Mann said “the best thing that can come from it is that you go forward and you continue to maintain your sobriety and that you give back to the community because there are so many others who can learn incredible lessons and grow from what you can bring to the table as someone who has experienced this.”
Mann reminded Thompson that there is also a rehabilitative component to the agreed upon sentencing, while also keeping the carrot-and-stick approach solidly alive.
“So there are serious consequences if there is a failure to remain in compliance with the probation,” she said.