Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 12, 2022
Man responsible for friend’s overdose death sentenced to prison
A Zanesville man who provided a 25-year-old he claimed to be his friend with drugs that killed him will spend the next 10 to 15 years in prison for the crime.
Kyle Barry was sentenced in common pleas court this week after he previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound in relation to the death of Timothy Corder.
During the course of Muskingum County Sheriff Det. Brady Hittle’s investigation, Barry claimed he was trying to “help” his friend, Corder, to obtain and use fentanyl by providing the drug to him and teaching Corder how to use the fentanyl.
Det. Hittle was able to recover messages between both men before the drugs were purchased, while they were being used and after the drugs were consumed by both Barry and Corder, who used the drugs separately at different locations.
The messages indicate that earlier in the day, Corder and Barry discussed getting $140 together to split drugs. Barry then made contact with another drug dealer. Shortly thereafter, Barry texted Corder about having been shorted, or not given the full amount of drugs, and that he had to return so that his drug dealer could “make it right.”
That evening, recovered messages showed Barry and Corder spoke about how to use the drugs. They discussed “finding their limit” and the need to stay hydrated while using fentanyl.
The case, handled by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Hughes, highlights one of the many types of tragedies the illegal drug trade inflicts on citizens, families and our communities. There is no safe way to ingest or inject poison, and there is no legal way to poison other persons. The victim in this case was a young man with a job, a future and an addiction.
Mr. Corder suffered the ultimate bad outcome from drug abuse, and Barry furnished the poison which caused his death. Now both men’s families are left to suffer the tragedy of their absence.
Sentencing in a criminal case requires the court to consider numerous factors. Among the primary factors the court considers are protecting the public from future crimes by the defendant, the impact of the crime on the victim, punishing the defendant for the crime or crimes committed and imposing a sentence that will deter others from engaging in the same or similar crimes. The court also considers the likelihood of rehabilitation for the criminal.
Judge Kelly Cottrill reviewed the facts of the case, the circumstances, and the charges. After considering the purposes of felony sentencing described above, he sentenced Barry to 10 to 15 years in prison out of a possible maximum sentence of 12 to 17-and-a-half years for the crime of involuntary manslaughter, with one year of prison for trafficking in drugs to be served concurrently, or at the same time, as the sentence for manslaughter.
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