Attleboro Woman Who Sold Lethal Batch of Fentanyl Sentenced to Prison
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
Press Release
August 21, 2023
A 24-year-old Attleboro woman, who sold a lethal batch of fentanyl to her 22-year-old friend while knowing the victim was going through rehabilitation, pled guilty today in Fall River Superior Court to Manslaughter and other charges, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
In addition to the Manslaughter indictment, Sydney Dahmani also pled guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
She was sentenced to serve three to five-and-a-half years in state prison.
The victim, Norton resident Shannon Mulligan, who was 22-year-old at the time of her death on March 6, 2021, knew she had a drug issue and entered into a rehab facility in November 2020.
On January 13, 2021, while the victim was in the rehab facility, the defendant contacted her on social media to tell her that she had fentanyl. The victim responded and stated that she was in a sober living facility getting sober. The defendant messaged the victim again on February 26, 2021, saying once again that she had fentanyl. The victim did not reply until March 5, the day that she was released from the rehab facility. That same day, the victim met with the defendant at her residence in Attleboro. The victim would later overdose in her family residence in Norton, where she resided with her mother, in the early morning hours on March 6, 2021. The cause of death was acute fentanyl and cocaine intoxication.
A later review of the defendant’s Facebook Messenger records showed a consciousness of guilt. In one conversation, in the days following victim’s death, the defendant stated that she “had a body on her hands”. In another conversation, in response to an inquiry about victim’s death, the defendant responded that if the person was with the victim when she died that they were guilty too.
On October 1, 2021, a State Police detectives assigned to DA Quinn’s office and Attleboro Police went to execute a search warrant for the defendant’s phone. Police stopped a rental car the defendant was a passenger in outside of her apartment in Attleboro. During that stop, the defendant made furtive movements. Police located $3,055 in cash in the car, along with a small amount of heroin and cocaine. The driver told police that the defendant paid her $100 to drive her to Watertown and that the rental vehicle was in the defendant’s name. Police then obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s apartment and located more cocaine, indicia of drug distribution and a firearm. The defendant was interviewed at the police station and admitted to meeting with the victim on the day that she got out of rehab just prior to her death.
“This case is a terrible tragedy for the victim and her family. She had her whole life ahead of her and her death has had a horrific impact on her family. It is particularly offensive that the defendant was selling fentanyl to the victim, knowing that she was undergoing substance abuse rehabilitation,” District Attorney Quinn said. “I am pleased the defendant accepted responsibility for her reckless conduct. My thoughts are with the family, and I hope they can begin to heal from this traumatic ordeal.”
The victim was a former honor roll student, a varsity athlete and a mother of a young child.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother, father and sister all gave impact statements about how the loss of the victim has affected their lives and the life of the victim’s daughter.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Lopes.
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
774-292-9576