It’s been more than a year since a judge declared a mistrial in Pamela Schwarz’s fentanyl murder trial, but she is scheduled for round two starting with jury selection for a second trial on June 16.
Schwarz, who was indicted for murder in 2022, is accused of giving her Escambia County jail cell mate Shirley Barney enough fentanyl to kill her five times over. The woman then allegedly watched Barney as she began suffering from an overdose, eventually slipping into unconsciousness and then death.
“It is alleged that the defendant smuggled fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl (synthetic fentanyl) into the jail and gave it to her cellmate who later died from an overdose of the drugs on May 24, 2022,” the Office of the State Attorney said in 2022.
First Pamela Schwarz trial ends in mistrial after inadmissible testimony
Schwarz began a two-day scheduled trial in April 2024, but attorneys didn’t get through half of the testimony before a witness provided inadmissible statements in front of the jury.
Circuit Judge Jennie Kinsey, who presided over the first trial, granted the defense’s motion for a mistrial and had to reset the case on the docket.
Pamela Schwarz allegedly watched cell mate slowly die of fentanyl overdose
An Escambia County grand jury indicted Schwarz in Barney’s death in August 2022.
According to a medical examiner’s autopsy report of Barney discussed in a law enforcement report, a toxicology analysis of Barney’s blood revealed she had 17 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of blood and 0.93 nanograms of parafluorofentanyl per milliliter of blood.
The report noted that as little as 3 nanograms per milliliter can be fatal, making Barney’s fentanyl blood levels nearly six times higher than what is deemed lethal.
Law enforcement reports state that jail surveillance footage shows Barney begin the overdose, at which time Schwarz begins collecting “small object(s)” around the dying woman.
“Schwarz then grabbed Barney’s arm and threw it across her (own) body and moved Barney’s right leg onto the bunk and covered her with a blanket,” the report says. “Schwarz then adjusts the blanket obscuring the window and goes about various housekeeping tasks inside the cell.”
State claims Pamela Schwarz smuggled fentanyl in the jail
Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea told the jury during the first trial that Schwarz smuggled in an unknown amount of fentanyl while she was booked at the jail, allegedly sneaking it past guards in an inconspicuous location.
“What you’ll see in the video, is she’s in the cell for mere minutes before she goes to the toilet and takes something out of her vagina, which looks like a little white ball or what could be some powder substance in a plastic bag,” Shea told the jury. “At various points of the video, you’ll see her handle this object, manipulate the object and then shortly after that you’ll see Ms. Barney had ingested this substance and then she will pass out.”
Randall Richardson, Schwarz’s then-attorney, says his client could not have smuggled fentanyl into the Escambia County Jail since multiple searches came back negative for any contraband.
“Thorough examinations such as X-rays and body cavity searches, as you will see, were conducted prior and following the incident,” he told the jury. “These searches consistently revealed that no drugs were present, owned or within Pamela at any time.
“This absence of physical evidence is not merely a minor detail but is a critical element that undermines the prosecution’s narrative,” he added.
In Schwarz’s arrest report, the investigator assigned to her case says he observed camera footage of the cell and saw the defendant “transferring substances from her vagina to her sock, to her bunk and later back to her vagina” while Barney was overdosing on fentanyl.
The report also says Schwarz “appears to utilize the toilet to flush the substance.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola woman accused of giving cellmate enough fentanyl to kill 5 faces retrial
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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