Woman Allegedly Killed Teacher By Injecting Him With Lethal Dose Of Meth

A Virginia woman has been sentenced to prison for allegedly killing a special education teacher by injecting him with a lethal dose of methamphetamine.

Deborah Anne Coleman, 42, pleaded guilty on Monday, May 23, and accepted legal culpability for the death of 47-year-old special education teacher Shannon Anthony Clark who was found dead on Feb. 10, 2021, after being injected with illegal drugs.

Coleman reportedly thought Clark was in medical distress at the time of the killing. However, instead of calling emergency services, she injected him with two shots of what she referred to as “ice” that she had allegedly produced herself. The “ice” that Coleman mentioned is a street term for methamphetamine, Law & Crime reported.

The dose of methamphetamine that was injected into Clark's body proved to be fatal for the victim. Clark’s death was later ruled to be the result of acute methamphetamine and fentanyl toxicity. However, Coleman maintained her defense claiming that Clark's death was an accident.

Following the discovery of Clark's body, Coleman was arrested the next day. However, she was not taken into custody for murder and was originally charged with a drug crime that law enforcement related to the victim’s death. She remained in jail while a grand jury considered her role in Clark’s overdose and the jurors returned a murder indictment on July 18, 2021, WSLS reported.

Coleman pleaded guilty to one charge of felony murder earlier this year in exchange for some degree of leniency in sentencing and for several additional charges being dropped.

These charges included one county of methamphetamine distribution; two counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell, give or distribute a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance; two counts of selling or providing Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substances for resale; one count of selling or distributing Schedule III controlled substances; one count of cruelty or injury to a child; and one count of unauthorized possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was sentenced to a total prison term of 30 years. She will have 12 years of her sentence suspended and will serve 18 years in prison as an “active sentence.”

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Shaun Mabry who prosecuted the case remarked that the case was “the archetype of the dangers of meth."