Pubdate: Thu, 8 Oct, 1998
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Contact:  
Mail: 143 South Main, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111
Copyright: (c) ©  1998, The Salt Lake Tribune 
Website: http://utahonline.sltrib.com/
Author: Heather May

WITH DAUGHTER IN NEARBY ROOM, MOTHER DIES DOING DRUGS

SOUTH SALT LAKE -- Melanie Oviant and her ex-husband drove to Salt
Lake City on Friday night, bought heroin and shot up back at Oviant's
apartment while their 11-year-old daughter was in a nearby room.
Police said Oviant, 34, never woke up from the heroin high. Her
ex-husband told investigators he tried to revive her Saturday morning
and when he couldn't, he took his daughter and left. Her body was
discovered Wednesday. ``Obviously he was scared,'' said Sgt. Beau
Babka, spokesman for the South Salt Lake Police Department. Police
believe Oviant died from an overdose.

Her ex-husband could be charged with negligent homicide for not
getting help. In the meantime, he has custody of his daughter. The
medical examiner will perform an autopsy today, and the district
attorney will decide whether to file charges.

The Tribune normally does not name suspects until they are charged. If
heroin is the culprit, Oviant becomes another statistic in what is
becoming an alarming trend.

In Salt Lake City so far this year, 47 people have overdosed on
drugs.

That's a 336 percent increase from last year's 14 drug
overdoses.

No agency keeps track of total drug overdoses for the state. Oviant's
body was found Wednesday morning at her home at Elmtree Apartments,
3405 S. 200 East. The county constable's office and the ex-husband's
girlfriend found the badly decomposed body around 9 a.m. Oviant was
being locked out of her apartment because she had not paid September
and October's rent. The girlfriend was there to check on Oviant
because she had not seen or heard from her all weekend, according to
police. Babka said Oviant was lying on a pillow on the floor of her
bedroom with clothes resting on top of her body. A drug needle was
found under the bed. Neighbors reported her white Sentra XE had
disappeared Saturday and returned Monday, but nobody had seen Oviant
since Saturday. ``Things just didn't add up,'' Babka said. He said
when police talked to the ex-husband Wednesday, the Salt Lake County
resident told them what happened. ``They went uptown, wherever uptown
is, bought heroin, came back and shot up. . . . Saturday morning he
tries to revive her, can't and takes the daughter with him. He brings
the car back Monday without telling anyone what's going on.'' Babka
said the 11-year-old didn't know her mother was dead when she left
with her father Saturday and she was in a different room at the time
her parents shot up. She has been staying with her father and his
girlfriend since last weekend. According to court records, the father
has had numerous run-ins with the police during the past 10 years.

Most were petty offenses like traffic violations and public
intoxication. He also has had civil problems because of debts. Babka
said the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) decided not to
take custody of the girl. The agency did not return phone calls. ``It
would be a definite concern to leave her with a known drug abuser,''
Babka said. ``Unfortunately, we have certain powers and [refusing to
grant custody to the father] doesn't seem to be one of them.'' Oviant
and her ex-husband also have a 1-year-old daughter who was visiting
Oviant's father in Price when Oviant died. The baby is with her
grandfather, according to Babka. Oviant may have been a victim of a
bad batch of heroin -- one that was too pure. Drugs have become more
pure and thus more lethal over the past month and a half, said Don
Mendrala, the Drug Enforcement Administration's resident agent in
charge of Utah. Typically drugs are mixed with something like lactose,
giving it a purity level of 10 or 15 percent.

Now, about 60 percent of what is sold is pure heroin because it comes
directly to Utah from South America, Mendrala said. ``If I don't have
a bunch of middlemen involved, I'm getting the dope in a pure form
from the manufacturer.''
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Checked-by: Patrick Henry