The next day, Sam stood before the media outside HQ to make the statement that Angela and Spencer’s family had approved for release. Sam had spent the previous evening on the phone with each of her victims’ families, updating them on the resolution of the case.

“On behalf of the Radcliffe and Holland families, we thank you for the outpouring of love and support that followed the death of our beloved Spencer Radcliffe, who was my sister Angela’s husband and the father of my nephew Jack and my niece Ella, as well as another child due in June. Our hearts are truly broken by this unimaginable loss. Angela and the Radcliffe family have asked me to share Spencer’s cause of death in the hope that his story might save other lives.

“More than a year ago, Spencer suffered a back injury while playing football with friends. He was treated with OxyContin, to which he became addicted. When his doctors refused to prescribe more of the medication he needed to manage the pain he was still experiencing, Spencer went looking for it elsewhere, which led to him encountering fentanyl-laced street Oxy. That is what killed him.

“Prior to his death, Spencer had worked diligently to overcome his addiction, spending months in rehab and working on his recovery. He was due to return to rehab for a third time the Tuesday after his death. The back pain that continued to plague him was such that he was desperate enough to go looking for the pills that brought relief anywhere he could get them. He turned to a friend to provide the pills. That friend was arrested this week.

“Our family’s story is no different from that of many families who have faced the scourge of opioid addiction with similar results. My sister is determined that her husband’s death will help bring about change in our society, our laws and our compassion for addicts of all kinds.

“I’m also here to announce the arrests of Sal Vincent and numerous members of his team who were dealing the laced pills to unsuspecting customers, hoping to run a rival dealer out of the local business. Vincent and others, whose names will be released pending arraignments, have been charged with seven counts each of felony murder in the deaths of Spencer Radcliffe, Mary Alice Albright, Morgan Newell, Angelo Diaz, Tommy O’Donald, Jesse Myer and Jackson Audette, as well as the attempted murder of Bryan Smith. We expect to link Vincent and his dealers to numerous other overdose deaths in the coming days.

“Our team is working with the DEA to locate the remaining product that Vincent’s team was selling, but we urge the public to use extreme caution in taking any medication that was not prescribed by a doctor and obtained through a pharmacy. We believe there are fentanyl-laced pills still in circulation. If you have acquired Oxy illegally in recent weeks, we urge you not to touch the medication and to call the Metro PD immediately. No charges will be filed against anyone who asks for our assistance in disposing of these pills.”