A Grove City woman accused of supplying the drugs that killed another woman inside a West Main Street apartment has been denied bail and is now waiting for a preliminary hearing. Police say Amanda Lynn Karwowski was charged in connection with the death of Chloe Wiley, who was found dead in the apartment in April after what the Mercer County Coroner’s Office determined was combined drug toxicity.
According to the Butler Eagle, Karwowski was charged on October 20 with one felony count each of drug delivery resulting in death and voluntary manslaughter, along with misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence. Reports differ on some basic details of the case: the Eagle reported Wiley was 34 and was found on April 11, while WFMJ reported she was 32 and that police were called to a West Main Street duplex on the night of April 10, where they found her body inside.
Surveillance Footage and Black Bags
Police told the Eagle that surveillance footage showed Karwowski leaving the apartment carrying large black bags she had not brought in with her, a detail investigators cited as part of the evidence against her. A man who was seen with Karwowski was also interviewed by police, but the Eagle reports he was not charged.
Investigators also pointed to phone records between Karwowski and Wiley. Per WKBN, the messages referenced “ICE” and “DOWN,” terms police said stood for meth and fentanyl. That detail lines up with claims reported elsewhere that Karwowski initially told police she and Wiley had only smoked marijuana, while police maintained the pair had instead smoked meth, according to charging documents cited by ButlerRadio.com.
Held Without Bail, Hearing Set for Nov. 18
Karwowski is currently being held in Mercer County Jail with bail denied, the Eagle reported. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. on November 18 before District Judge Douglas Straub, where the case against her will first be tested in court.
Butler Radio reported that police reviewed witness interviews and video evidence as part of the investigation, which culminated in Karwowski being booked into Mercer County Prison. No case disposition has been reported, and the charges against her remain allegations at this stage.
A Charge Rooted in a Statewide Debate
The charge of drug delivery resulting in death has drawn broader legal scrutiny in Pennsylvania this fall. Spotlight PA reported that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently upheld convictions in two York County cases and ruled that state law does not differentiate between drug dealers and co-users for purposes of delivering illegal narcotics. The court said any change distinguishing dealers from users accused of sharing drugs with someone who later dies is a policy question for the General Assembly, not the courts, according to the same report.
That charge has been filed more than 680 times across Pennsylvania from 2021 through 2025, Spotlight PA reported, though prosecution rates vary widely by county, according to BCTV. Under Pennsylvania’s Title 18, Section 2506, drug delivery resulting in death is classified as a first-degree felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to 40 years, while involuntary manslaughter under Section 2504 is generally graded as a first-degree misdemeanor.
The case also sits against a grim statewide backdrop. WKBN reported that Pennsylvania recorded 5,146 overdose deaths in 2022, with 78% linked to opioids, and that Mercer County’s overdose death rate that year stood at 4.3%, above the statewide average of 3.96%. The Pennsylvania Opioid Data Dashboard, maintained by the state, tracks data behind the commonwealth's broader response to the crisis.
