Charges laid after complaint prompts second investigation into sudden death

KENTVILLE, N.S. – Amy Graves believes her brother’s death wasn’t just an accident – and now the police share her belief.

RCMP in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley said Tuesday they had charged a 22-year-old man with criminal negligence causing the death last March of Joshua Graves – almost a year after the case was initially declared an accidental death due to an overdose of a prescription painkiller.

The Mounties said Kyle Fredericks of Kentville has also been charged with trafficking in hydromorphone, the generic name for the controlled substance also known by its brand name, Dilaudid. He is scheduled to appear in Kentville provincial court on April 2.

Amy Graves said she felt a great sense of relief when she heard about the charges.

“I’m just happy that this day is finally here,” she said in an interview. “I have a little peace of mind that Josh’s death wasn’t in vain and, hopefully, this will prevent future deaths.”

Last November, Amy Graves filed a complaint with the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, accusing the Mounties in nearby New Minas, N.S., of failing to properly investigate her brother’s death after he attended a house party in Berwick, N.S.

Her complaint alleged police did not question anyone at the party even though some of the party-goers were believed to be taking illicit drugs.

“The answers I was getting before the complaint were: ‘It’s your brother’s fault. It was his choice. There’s nothing we can do,'” she said. “It just seems like they didn’t want to take the time and that Josh wasn’t worth it.”

That’s why she started her own investigation.

“I had 10 different statements from kids who had gone to that party, saying they saw (someone) dealing prescription medication. But the police refused to take any of the evidence.”

Then she filed her complaint.

RCMP Insp. Mike Payne said there was an initial investigation and people were interviewed, but the first probe turned up insufficient evidence for charges.

However, Payne said new information emerged during the investigation of a subsequent complaint. He couldn’t say who filed it because their identity is protected.

“Those details led me to order a drug investigation,” said Payne, head of the Kings District RCMP in New Minas.

“A significant development in allowing us to get there was the passage of time and the awareness that Amy Graves has raised in the local community about the prescription drug abuse.”

Joshua Graves was 21 when he died on March 19, 2011. His sister said he was not an illicit drug user and did not have a prescription for hydromorphone or any other drug.

“That’s what’s so scary with these prescription pills,” she said. “They’re so potent and they’re so deadly – there’s no second chances with them.”

After his death, Amy Graves started an advocacy group to draw attention to the problem of prescription drug abuse in the Annapolis Valley.

The group, Get Prescription Drugs off the Streets, has staged demonstrations, produced online videos and lobbied for more help for people addicted to prescription drugs.

On the group’s website, Graves says she first became aware of prescription drug abuse about 12 years ago when she was still in high school in Kentville.

“I am now 25 and have lost four of my peers to accidental prescription drug overdoses,” she writes. “One has gone into a coma for a week from a methadone overdose as well as 22 friends of mine have been on the methadone treatment trying to break free from their prescription pill addiction.”

In May 2011, the medical officer of health for the Annapolis Valley, Dr. Richard Gould, concluded that the incidence of deaths related to prescription drug abuse in the area was similar to that of other areas in the province.

However, a provincial working group later recommended improving the province’s monitoring of prescriptions and access to treatment for addicts.

In October, the Nova Scotia government announced it will spend $370,000 a year to widen a methadone treatment program for addicts in the Annapolis Valley. At the time, Health and Wellness Minister Maureen MacDonald said the move would address a significant waiting list for methadone treatment.

– By Michael MacDonald in Halifax