New York woman accused of incapacitating 4 men with fentanyl-laced drugs, killing 3 of them

A test strips used to check for presence of illicit fentanyl in such drugs as heroin, crystal meth and cocaine in this undated handout images. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Vancouver Coastal Health)

A New York woman is accused of using fentanyl-laced drugs to incapacitate and then rob four men of cash, phones, sneakers and other belongings, killing three of the men in the process.

Tabitha Bundrick, 36, was indicted Wednesday on 11 counts of murder, robbery, burglary and assault charges. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg called her alleged actions “extremely calculated” and noted other recent cases in New York where people died after being drugged and robbed, including outside nightclubs.

“This type of callous behaviour will not be tolerated in Manhattan,” he said during a news conference.

Bundrick, who pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, is accused of targeting men between 2023 and 2024. On April 20, 2023, prosecutors said she approached two men on the street in Washington Heights under the guise of selling them soap. Prosecutors said she then offered to have sex in exchange for money and led them to an empty apartment she broke into, offering them fentanyl-laced drugs she claimed were cocaine.

One of the men told police he woke up the next morning to find his friend, Mario Paullan, 42, dead beside him and their belongings missing. Prosecutors said the man had no memory of what had occurred.

Prosecutors said the second death occurred on Sept. 27, 2023, in Washington Heights when Bundrick met Miguel Navez, 39, and went back to his apartment where she allegedly provided him with fentanyl-laced drugs. Navez’s brother found him dead three days later and his personal belongings missing.

During a third fatal incident, which occurred on Feb. 25, 2024, prosecutors said Bundrick followed Abrihan Fernandez, 34, to his apartment building where she allegedly provided him with fentanyl-laced drugs. Prosecutors said she took several large bags from the apartment.

Prosecutors said Bundrick used Fernandez’s credit card multiple times, as well as stolen cellphones belonging to the other men.

An email was sent seeking comment to her city public defender.

Bundrick pleaded guilty in February to federal drug-related charges stemming from the same deaths and was sentenced on Aug. 6 to serve 156 months in prison.

Her lawyers said in a sentencing memo that Bundrick “is not a calculated killer, a cold-hearted manipulator, or someone who lacks a conscience,” but rather a victim of childhood sexual abuse who functions intellectually at a third-grade level.

They said Bundrick, a mother, is also not a drug dealer and only used the drugs to get through the experience of having to prostitute herself.

“Ms. Bundrick undoubtedly made a poor decision when she shared her drugs with men who were just ‘looking for a good time.’ But she never intended to kill anyone,” the lawyers said in the memo. “Indeed, she used the same exact drugs alongside each of them.”

Federal prosecutors said in a separate sentencing memo that even though Bundrick “may not have specifically intended to kill her victims when she drugged them with fentanyl,” she knew the drug could kill them and she gave it to them anyway and continued to give it to more men.

Susan Haigh, The Associated Press