Woman sentenced to three-and-a-half years in Edmonton fentanyl injection death

Morgan Churchill, 41, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday in the death of Joseph Mercier, 60, who died after she injected him with a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine while they were using drugs together.

Mercier lost consciousness and died within moments of receiving the injection containing about a gram of fentanyl and a gram-and-a-half of cocaine on December 22, 2022. According to the agreed statement of facts, Churchill was also under the influence at the time and never called 911. She left to see friends and stayed with them through Christmas before returning home with a friend to find Mercier's body decomposing. She called 911 then.

Police arrived on December 28, 2022, when emergency crews were called to reports of a drug overdose at a home near 79 Street and 118 Avenue. Initially, Mercier's death was not considered suspicious. A toxicology report completed in March 2023 found the cause to be fentanyl toxicity, with the medical examiner ruling it accidental. A witness came forward later with information that caused police to reopen the investigation.

Police launched an undercover "Mr. Big" operation in early 2025, dubbed "Operation Hinder," that led to Churchill's arrest in March 2025. She confessed to injecting Mercier with the lethal mixture and was charged with second-degree murder before opting to plead guilty to manslaughter.

Justice Steven Mandziuk sentenced Churchill to three-and-a-half years in prison, minus time served, which amounts to 525 days. Mandziuk noted "this is not a drug-dealer scenario, this is a drug-user scenario" and cited Churchill's plea agreement, remorse, accountability, and her own addiction struggles and childhood trauma as mitigating factors. "Fentanyl is an absolute scourge on society," the judge said. No family members or friends appeared for either side in court.