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Trial begins for mother, daughter charged in teen's overdose death

MONACA, Pa. — The trial for two women accused of selling drugs to a 17-year-old boy who died of an overdose began Monday.

Dominick Treemarchi died on Dec. 7, 2014, after police found his body abandoned in a vehicle.

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According to a report in March from Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE, a mother and daughter were accused of selling an anti-anxiety medication to Treemarchi.

Danielle Hrelec, 41, and Brandi Spohn, 20, were charged with drug possession with intent to deliver.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by TribLIVE, Hrelec had a prescription for Xanax.

On Dec. 6, Spohn and Treemarchi exchanged text messages about Spohn selling some of her mother’s medication to Treemarchi.

The prosecution presented the following text messages exchanged between Treemarchi and Spohn hours before his death:

Spohn: "U still want some?"

Treemarchi: "Yes. Tell her I need 17."

A complaint said Hrelec agreed, and she drove with Spohn to meet Treemarchi, who bought 17 Xanax pills from the pair.

“This is a girl who is a product of her own environment, and we are trying to get her help,” Spohn’s attorney, Nick Urick, said.

Four teenagers, including Noah Lalama and Terrell Shelton, both 18, and two juveniles, were charged with involuntary manslaughter and related offenses.

A criminal complaint said that police received a call reporting that the teens removed a body from a vehicle and put it into another vehicle on Washington Avenue in Monaca.

Treemarchi was found unresponsive in that vehicle and later died at UPMC Presbyterian hospital.

Treemarchi’s mother, Shannon Bathgate, told Channel 11 outside the courtroom that she is heartbroken and wants her son back.

“I want them (children and parents) to realize that something like Xanax can take their lives, and it's not something that is OK to do,” she said.

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