Topline: A New Jersey woman was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting she helped cause her half-sister’s fentanyl-related death, a punishment the victim’s family condemned in court as a “travesty of justice.”
Published: April 15, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Randy Shaw
I cut my teeth in journalism when I began looking into what I saw as abuses of power in my local government. From then on, I was hooked on the dopamine rush of uncovering information.
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Sarah Errickson, left, is accused of killing her sister, Emily Cruddas, right, in a 2023 case that investigators say was staged to appear as a drug overdose before later being ruled a homicide.
CAPE MAY, NJ — A New Jersey woman was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for the death of her half-sister after a courtroom hearing that exposed the deep anger of a family who said the plea agreement in the case failed to deliver justice.
Court TV reported that Sarah Errickson, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of her half-sister, Emily Cruddas, and then addressed the court at sentencing with an apology in which she said she still loved her sister and would miss her for the rest of her life.
Errickson had originally been charged alongside Cruddas’ fiancé, Joseph Ragan. Ragan pleaded guilty first to a lesser charge of drug-induced death and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of supervision. Prosecutors said he had agreed to testify against Errickson had the case gone to trial.
During Monday’s hearing, Errickson told the court that what happened never should have happened and said she took full responsibility for her actions while getting high. She said she wished every day that she could go back and change what happened and apologized to Emily’s family from the bottom of her heart.
But the victim’s relatives made clear they believed the agreed-upon sentence was far too lenient. Cruddas’ aunt, Barbara Merryfield, asked how Errickson could inject her own sister with fentanyl knowing the drug kills people, and said she would never want Errickson released because even that would not be enough punishment for what was done. Merryfield said she believed the killing was driven by premeditation and greed.
According to investigators, Cruddas had just returned home after treatment for a suicide attempt on Feb. 16, 2023, when Errickson and Ragan gave her Xanax and then injected her with fentanyl and heroin using a syringe. The victim’s uncle, Rich Cruddas Jr., told the court that Emily knew in her final moments that she was going to die and knew it was happening at the hands of her own sister and her own fiancé. He said the two then went back to partying and watched her struggle to breathe before she died.
Rich Cruddas Jr. called the plea agreement a “travesty of justice,” a phrase that captured the mood in the courtroom as family members addressed the judge.
Prosecutor Edward Shim responded that the case represented a family tragedy unfolding in a public courtroom and said that while he respected the family’s feelings and understood them, the facts sometimes dictated the outcome of a case and the resolution that followed.
Judge Jeffrey Waldman acknowledged the family’s pain before imposing the agreed-upon eight-year sentence. He called it a solemn and difficult day and told the family that no words from the court would ever restore what had been taken from them.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Woman Gets 8 Years in Fentanyl Death of Half-Sister as Family Blasts Plea Deal as a “Travesty of Justice”
A New Jersey woman was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting she helped cause her half-sister’s fentanyl-related death, a punishment the victim’s family condemned in court as a “travesty of justice.”
By Randy Shaw
Published: April 15, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Sarah Errickson, left, is accused of killing her sister, Emily Cruddas, right, in a 2023 case that investigators say was staged to appear as a drug overdose before later being ruled a homicide.
CAPE MAY, NJ — A New Jersey woman was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for the death of her half-sister after a courtroom hearing that exposed the deep anger of a family who said the plea agreement in the case failed to deliver justice.
Court TV reported that Sarah Errickson, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of her half-sister, Emily Cruddas, and then addressed the court at sentencing with an apology in which she said she still loved her sister and would miss her for the rest of her life.
Errickson had originally been charged alongside Cruddas’ fiancé, Joseph Ragan. Ragan pleaded guilty first to a lesser charge of drug-induced death and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of supervision. Prosecutors said he had agreed to testify against Errickson had the case gone to trial.
During Monday’s hearing, Errickson told the court that what happened never should have happened and said she took full responsibility for her actions while getting high. She said she wished every day that she could go back and change what happened and apologized to Emily’s family from the bottom of her heart.
But the victim’s relatives made clear they believed the agreed-upon sentence was far too lenient. Cruddas’ aunt, Barbara Merryfield, asked how Errickson could inject her own sister with fentanyl knowing the drug kills people, and said she would never want Errickson released because even that would not be enough punishment for what was done. Merryfield said she believed the killing was driven by premeditation and greed.
According to investigators, Cruddas had just returned home after treatment for a suicide attempt on Feb. 16, 2023, when Errickson and Ragan gave her Xanax and then injected her with fentanyl and heroin using a syringe. The victim’s uncle, Rich Cruddas Jr., told the court that Emily knew in her final moments that she was going to die and knew it was happening at the hands of her own sister and her own fiancé. He said the two then went back to partying and watched her struggle to breathe before she died.
Rich Cruddas Jr. called the plea agreement a “travesty of justice,” a phrase that captured the mood in the courtroom as family members addressed the judge.
Prosecutor Edward Shim responded that the case represented a family tragedy unfolding in a public courtroom and said that while he respected the family’s feelings and understood them, the facts sometimes dictated the outcome of a case and the resolution that followed.
Judge Jeffrey Waldman acknowledged the family’s pain before imposing the agreed-upon eight-year sentence. He called it a solemn and difficult day and told the family that no words from the court would ever restore what had been taken from them.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Latest Articles
Woman Gets 8 Years in Fentanyl Death of Half-Sister as Family Blasts Plea Deal as a “Travesty of Justice”
A New Jersey woman was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting she helped cause her half-sister’s fentanyl-related death, a punishment the victim’s family condemned in court as a “travesty of justice.”
By Randy Shaw
Published: April 15, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Sarah Errickson, left, is accused of killing her sister, Emily Cruddas, right, in a 2023 case that investigators say was staged to appear as a drug overdose before later being ruled a homicide.
CAPE MAY, NJ — A New Jersey woman was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for the death of her half-sister after a courtroom hearing that exposed the deep anger of a family who said the plea agreement in the case failed to deliver justice.
Court TV reported that Sarah Errickson, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of her half-sister, Emily Cruddas, and then addressed the court at sentencing with an apology in which she said she still loved her sister and would miss her for the rest of her life.
Errickson had originally been charged alongside Cruddas’ fiancé, Joseph Ragan. Ragan pleaded guilty first to a lesser charge of drug-induced death and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of supervision. Prosecutors said he had agreed to testify against Errickson had the case gone to trial.
During Monday’s hearing, Errickson told the court that what happened never should have happened and said she took full responsibility for her actions while getting high. She said she wished every day that she could go back and change what happened and apologized to Emily’s family from the bottom of her heart.
But the victim’s relatives made clear they believed the agreed-upon sentence was far too lenient. Cruddas’ aunt, Barbara Merryfield, asked how Errickson could inject her own sister with fentanyl knowing the drug kills people, and said she would never want Errickson released because even that would not be enough punishment for what was done. Merryfield said she believed the killing was driven by premeditation and greed.
According to investigators, Cruddas had just returned home after treatment for a suicide attempt on Feb. 16, 2023, when Errickson and Ragan gave her Xanax and then injected her with fentanyl and heroin using a syringe. The victim’s uncle, Rich Cruddas Jr., told the court that Emily knew in her final moments that she was going to die and knew it was happening at the hands of her own sister and her own fiancé. He said the two then went back to partying and watched her struggle to breathe before she died.
Rich Cruddas Jr. called the plea agreement a “travesty of justice,” a phrase that captured the mood in the courtroom as family members addressed the judge.
Prosecutor Edward Shim responded that the case represented a family tragedy unfolding in a public courtroom and said that while he respected the family’s feelings and understood them, the facts sometimes dictated the outcome of a case and the resolution that followed.
Judge Jeffrey Waldman acknowledged the family’s pain before imposing the agreed-upon eight-year sentence. He called it a solemn and difficult day and told the family that no words from the court would ever restore what had been taken from them.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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