Woman 8 months pregnant dies after boyfriend gives her fentanyl and meth, NC cops say
A woman who was 8 months pregnant died of an overdose after North Carolina deputies say her boyfriend gave her the drugs.
Rockingham County deputies found 31-year-old Jessica Loman dead in Stokesdale after receiving a report of a suspected drug overdose on March 12, according to a Jan. 4 news release from the sheriff’s office. The North Carolina medical examiner’s office determined in December that her cause of death was acute fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity, deputies said.
In 2021, there were more than 51,000 overdose deaths in the country, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. In the past 21 years, drug overdoses have killed more than 932,000 people, the CDC reported.
“This is a tragic situation,” Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said in the release. “Jessica had her whole life ahead of her, and her unborn child didn’t even get a chance at life.”
Further investigation led Loman’s boyfriend at the time, Matthew Isaac Pearman, to be arrested, deputies said. He is suspected of supplying the drugs to his girlfriend, which ultimately led to her death, according to sheriff’s office.
Pearman was charged with second-degree murder and murder of an unborn child.
He was booked at the Rockingham County Detention Center with no bond, according to deputies. His first court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 9, the sheriff’s office said.
Stokesdale is about 20 miles northwest of Greensboro.
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Woman 8 months pregnant dies after boyfriend gives her fentanyl and meth, NC cops say."
