A Philadelphia woman was sentenced to 5-10 years in a state prison for delivering a fatal dose of fentanyl to a Ridley man in December 2024.
Chelyn M. Beck, 44, of the 300 block of North 62nd Street, entered a negotiated guilty plea Feb. 13 to the single count of drug delivery resulting in death, a first-degree felony, before Common Pleas Court Judge Dominic Pileggi. Judge Richard Cappelli conducted the sentencing hearing.
The victim was not identified in police documents, so the Daily Times is withholding his name.
According to an affidavit of probable cause for Beck’s arrest written by Tinicum Township Detective Sean Ryan:
Ridley officers responded to a home in the Milmont section of the township on the morning of Dec. 18, 2024, for a report of cardiac arrest. They found the 47-year-old victim on the floor and 12 wax paper baggies nearby, each containing a white powdery substance.
The victim was pronounced dead at 7:23 a.m. His death was ruled an accident due to the toxic effects of fentanyl. Later testing of the baggies by Pennsylvania State Police showed the powdery substance in the wax baggies was fentanyl.
Investigators found two unsaved phone numbers in the victim’s phone and determined both belonged to Beck. It was immediately apparent from text conversations that the victim and Beck were discussing drug sales. Those texts spell out that the victim would pay Beck money for fentanyl.
Detectives found there were 78 total documented sales in texts between the victim and Beck from April 25, 2023, to Dec. 17, 2024. The victim was not texting with anyone else about drug transactions in proximity to his death date.
Beck and the victim had a series of exchanges between 1:47 p.m. and 3:29 p.m. Dec. 17, 2024, in which they discussed that final sale. The victim was waiting for Beck to get something from her supplier so that he could go to his child’s basketball game.
The victim finally called Beck at 3:50 p.m. for four seconds. Both the victim and Beck were using a cell tower near her 62nd Street residence.
Victim’s family
Assistant District Attorney Nick McGuire offered testimony from several family members Thursday who described the victim as kind, funny, loving and generous; a beloved son, brother, uncle and godfather who was devoted to his three children.
The overriding sentiment was that Beck had somehow reeled the victim back into using drugs while he was trying to stay clean, so that she could wheedle a few bucks out of his addiction for herself.
“We don’t pretend this gives us peace,” the victim’s sister said in a letter read in court by their brother. “There are moments when we wish the punishment reflected even more of the devastation we carry. But this is not about revenge, it is about responsibility. Look at his family. See our sorrow. Feel what your actions have done to us all.”
The brother said the victim had his struggles and his family members tried to help, but are now left wondering what drove his decisions and holding onto questions for which there are no answers.
“You basically walked behind someone on a cliff and pushed them over the edge,” he told Beck.
The victim’s ex-wife, who found him with their 15-year-old son, said Beck had preyed upon him for the meager sum of $20.
In the time since his death, she said, their oldest daughter graduated from Drexel University, their middle son graduated from high school and their youngest missed out on his father teaching him to drive.
The children now must continue on hitting more milestones in their lives without their father’s love, guidance and protection, she said.
“The crime you committed and the crime-filled, demoralizing way of life you pursued has not made any contributions to this society,” she said. “So … do better. Do better for the life you took and do better for your children.”
The victim’s daughter also read a text their father had sent them on New Years of 2024, in which he told them all how proud he was and that he could not have asked for better kids. He said 2024 was going to be a good year.
She said she does not forgive Beck or feel sorry for her, and that she and her siblings had done more positive things in their short lives than Beck has managed in her 44 years on Earth.
In her defense
Defense counsel Paige Benedetto noted Beck was also addicted to crack and that the nine months since her arrest have been the longest stretch of sobriety for her in 12 years.
She said Beck has expressed deep remorse and grief for her actions while in the throes of that addiction, and that she understands what happened to the victim and how she contributed to it, and is taking accountability for her actions. Benedetto noted Beck is eager to get into a drug treatment program while incarcerated that may decrease her sentence.
Beck, for her part, tearfully apologized to the family and agreed that she is 44 with nothing to show for it. She said she was just an addict who had no respect for herself at that time, but would not knowingly provide a fatal dose to someone.
Judge Cappelli said this is not the first case of its kind to come across his desk and told Beck the only way to change is to accept responsibility, address her addiction and seek help.
Beck is not eligible for early release on good time, but may be eligible for the state drug treatment program. She was given credit for time served from May 22, 2025 through Feb. 19, 2026. Beck was also ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family.