A Chicago man and Ottawa woman  have been charged with the drug-induced homicide of Richard Gregorie, 34, who died in April following an apparent heroin overdose in his Kaneville Township home.

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office authorized one count of drug induced homicide, a Class X felony, against Aaron Moore, 28, of Chicago, and Catherine Smith, 29, of Ottawa, whom authorities identified as Gregorie’s wife.

Smith also was charged with causing a child to be endangered, a Class A misdemeanor, because her 9-year-old son was home at the time of the overdose, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office said.

The charges follow a nearly six-month Kane County Sheriff’s Office investigation of an incident that took place on April 23.

At around 2 p.m. on that date, Kane County sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence in the 46W500 block of Main Street in unincorporated Kaneville Township for a report of a subject who may have overdosed after ingesting heroin. Upon arrival, deputies learned that Gregorie, the resident of the home, was not conscious or breathing. Gregorie was transported to Delnor Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.

Deputies began to investigate where the victim obtained the heroin, which led to assistance by both the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oak Park Police Department.

According to a Kane County Sheriff’s Office news release, Moore and Smith were were taken into custody without incident Wednesday (Oct. 5, 2016) and transported to the Kane County Adult Justice Center. They were expected to appear at bond call Thursday morning at the Kane County Judicial Center.

The charges against Moore and Smith are not proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Kane County Sheriff’s Office news release