Sloan Hanson

A Clearfield Township man who police said administered heroin to his live-in girlfriend leading to her death pleaded not guilty to third-degree murder during his preliminary hearing Tuesday, March 4.

Sloan Hanson, 70, was charged with felony third-degree murder, drug delivery resulting in death, intent to deliver controlled substances and misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter related to an Oct. 9 incident when Kimberly Ray, 55, was found dead in their shared home.

Defense attorney Michael Zunder, of Zunder and Associates, challenged parts of Trooper Joshua Osche’s testimony in Tuesday’s hearing before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.

An autopsy confirmed her cause of death to be combined drug poisoning, and autopsy photos were admitted as evidence.

“I couldn’t believe she was alive a few hours before I got there,” Osche said.

Osche interviewed Hanson at the scene and later at state police barracks. He said Ray asked Hanson to drive to Clariton, in Allegheny County, to procure heroin from an unidentified individual using the alias Dante, whom Ray had previously contacted. Hanson procured heroin for Ray for about two weeks before her death and prepared it for Ray to inject, Osche testified.

Ray used about 15 bags of heroin every four hours in the day and a half bag before her death, according to the affidavit. Osche said drug paraphernalia was found at the scene.

Osche said Hanson believed he was giving Ray only heroin, but the autopsy additionally found cocaine, morphine and xylazine in her system. Osche testified he previously saw multiple drugs cut into a cocktail, but could not confirm that’s where the three drugs came from in this instance.

Osche testified he found Ray’s body lying behind the couch near the kitchen table in the residence with no shirt and electrodes on her chest. Hanson told him Ray was using heroin to manage pain from a vehicle accident and had been immobile for at least two weeks before her death, Osche said.

Before her death, Hanson had taken Ray to the restroom and left her alone. Osche testified Hanson heard beeping in the bathroom and found Ray not breathing. He attempted lifesaving measures before calling 911, Osche said.

Osche said Ray had necrotic tissue and maggots crawling from her socks. Paramedics arrived on scene before state police around 11 p.m. and pronounced Ray dead at the scene, according to the affidavit.

Osche said he did not recall if Hanson said he had seen the severity of Ray’s wounds before her death. Zunder noted that Osche said Hanson saw maggots crawling from her socks, not from her wounds. He also noted that no photos were taken of Hanson procuring the substances.

Osche said the two had lived in the house together for less than a year, but the timeline of how long they had known each other and Ray’s health decline was unclear.

Hanson’s formal arraignment is scheduled for 1 p.m. April 22 in Butler Common Pleas Courtroom 5. He has been on electronic monitoring since being released from prison.

Assistant district attorney Zoe Kecskemethy represented the commonwealth in the case.