The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

February 19, 2009

Fatal overdose of 18-year-old newlywed in Sharon ruled accidental

By Courtney L. Anderson

SHARON — The Mercer County Coroner has ruled that the death of a woman Jan. 16 in her Sharon home was an accident caused by a toxic combination of prescription drugs.

Francis M. Glover-Pumphrey, 18, of 632 E. State St., Sharon, died from a combination of seven different drugs in her system, some of which were prescribed to her, Coroner J. Bradley McGonigle III said.

Sharon Police Chief Mike Menster said police are still investigating her death and the case is not closed.

McGonigle said the toxicology report showed these drugs in Mrs. Glover-Pumphrey�s system: Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication; Klonopin, which is used to treat seizures and panic disorder; Flexeril, a muscle relaxer; Unisom, an antihistamine with sedative effects; the painkillers Tramadol and Ultram; and the anti-depressant Zoloft.

Mrs. Glover-Pumphrey suffered from fibromyalgia, a syndrome that affects the muscles and soft tissues and causes chronic pain and fatigue, McGonigle said.

A native of Washington state, Mrs. Glover-Pumphrey lived in South Pymatuning Township before moving to Sharon, according to her obituary.

She married Matthew L. Pumphrey Jan. 13 and the couple were charged the day before her death by Hermitage police with theft, access-device fraud, identity theft and forgery, and conspiracy to commit those offenses.

Hermitage police charged the couple with stealing two credit cards belonging to a Hermitage couple at a Christmas Eve party at a home in the 3600 block of Sample Road. They used the cards to charge items worth $719, including gasoline and clothes and shoes, police said.

The charges against Pumphrey, 25, of the same address, were held to Mercer County Common Please Court last week by District Judge Ronald E. Antos, Farrell. Pumphrey is free on his own recognizance.

The charges against Mrs. Glover-Pumphrey were dropped after her death.

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