Slidell Woman Sentenced to 40 Years for Role in Drug Overdose Death of Fellow Inmate

District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on April 21, 2025, 40-year-old Sarah Blackmon of Slidell was sentenced by Judge Alan Black to 40 years in prison after she pled guilty to Manslaughter for her role in the drug overdose death of a fellow inmate in the Slidell City Jail.  Blackmon also pled guilty to related charges of Introduction of a controlled dangerous substance into a correctional facility and Failure to seek assistance resulting in death.  She was sentenced to five years in prison on each of those charges, to run concurrent with the manslaughter sentence. Assistant District Attorney Luke Lancaster prosecuted the case.

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On November 22, 2023, a correctional officer with the Slidell Police Department was conducting his usual morning routine of waking inmates. One of the female inmates did not respond to him.  After making entry into the inmate’s cell, the correctional officer noticed the 25-year-old inmate was deceased.  An autopsy revealed the inmate had died of a Fentanyl overdose.

Detectives with Slidell Police Department reviewed video footage from the jail’s surveillance system and noted that on the previous day, inmate Sarah Blackmon had been moved into the same jail cell occupied by the now deceased inmate.  Within minutes of being placed into the cell, Blackmon is seen removing something from a body cavity and eventually passing it to the victim.  Later, Blackmon is observed stepping toward the victim who is lying on a bed.  Blackmon lifted the victim’s arm and let it go.  The victim’s arm immediately fell back to the bed.  Blackmon covered the victim with a blanket and became visibly emotional.

Detectives questioned Blackmon and she eventually admitted when she was booked into the jail the previous day, correctional officers conducted a strip search of her but did not detect drugs she had concealed in a body cavity.  Once she was placed into the cell with now deceased inmate, she removed the drugs, consumed some and shared the remainder with the other inmate.  Blackmon acknowledged that at a later point, she approached the victim and did not observe any signs of life in her.  Blackmon said she believed the inmate was deceased but did not seek any assistance because she knew she was the one who provided the drugs that likely caused the victim’s death.

Under Louisiana law, if a person distributes a controlled dangerous substance which is the direct cause of death of the recipient who ingested the controlled dangerous substance, that person is criminally liable for homicide.