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Kitchener-Waterloo

Quin Kurtz pleads guilty in 2013 death of Austin Padaric

Elmira resident Quin Kurtz, 22, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the overdose death of 17-year-old Austin Padaric back in April 2013.

Padaric died from a drug overdose while partying at Kurtz' Elmira apartment

Austin Padaric was 17-years-old when he died in Quin Kurtz's apartment from a drug overdose. (Ozzies Update/Facebook)

A 22-year-old Elmira man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the April, 2013overdose death of a teenager at a party.

Quin Kurtz appeared in a superior courtroom in Kitchener on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to three counts, including manslaughter, production of a controlled substance and trafficking in a controlled substance.

The charges are related to an incident that occurred on April 5, 2013, while Kurtz was hosting a party in his apartment on Flamingo Drive in Elmira.

At the time, Kurtz had approximately 80 morphine pills in his possession, some of which he gave to 17-year-old Austin Padaric.

According to a statement of facts obtained by CBC News, Kurtz crushed the pills andPadaricsnorted them.

Morphine caused or contributed todeath

At around 3:00 a.m. the next morning, Padaric began to make strange breathing noises. By 6:00 a.m., he was running a fever.

Kurtz and another young man placed Padaric in a cold bath and, when the teenager had cooled down, Kurtz laid him on the floor in the bathroom.

Someone at the apartment suggested calling for help, but it wasn't until after 11:00 a.m. that 911 was called.

Padaric was then rushed to Grand River Hospital and placed on life support. He was later transferred to Hamilton General Hospital, but was pronounced dead on April 12, 2013.

According to the statement of facts, the morphine pills that Kurtz brought to the party "either caused or were a contributing factor in Austin Padaric's death."

Although he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, Kurtz will not be held in custody.

He will be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2016.

Corrections

  • An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Austin Padaric crushed the morphine pills he was given; in fact, it was Quin Kurtz who crushed the pills.
    Sep 30, 2015 10:07 AM ET