Virginian Anthony Vita Charged In Heroin Death Of Pregnant Mom, Unborn Child

A Virginia Beach man has been arrested for his alleged role in selling heroine – laced with a potentially much more dangerous recreational drug – to a pregnant Syracuse woman, unfortunately killing her and her unborn child in the process.

According to NBC News, Anthony Vita, who is 36, has waived his right to a hearing in his home state and will instead be transported back to upstate New York where he will stand trial to determine the extent of his role in the death of 24-year-old Morgan Axe and her fetus.

Particularly damning to Vita’s case is a series of messages exchanged between the two last November, as well as the syringe and bag labeled “King of Torts” found next to Axe’s body. Authorities claim that this bag contained a lethal dose of heroin and fentanyl, which Axe’s autopsy revealed were both present in the victim’s system. The D.E.A., meanwhile, noted that this drug – which is unfortunately increasingly often mixed with heroine for a deadly result – is “30 to 50 times more powerful that heroin,” per Syracuse.

Here are 6 shocking stats that reveal the devastation of the heroin epidemic: https://t.co/X2jy1IAw5Y

— Mic (@mic) March 16, 2016

According to a series of messages that authorities discovered on the victim’s iPad – which was handed over to investigators by her family – Axe expressed a strong desire for the alleged drug dealer to provide her with “something good” after a “bad day.”

Vita’s chilling response to the girl who noted she had been clean and sober for five months was, “Call me I got the best of it all… the king of torts.” Police reports then indicate that Axe’s mother saw her daughter exit her bedroom briefly to visit someone outside in a vehicle, but then quickly return to her bedroom.

This was the last time, investigators believe, that Morgan Axe was seen alive.

A full copy of Axe’s (who is identified as “MA” in reports) alleged conversation with Vita – in addition to the February 9 criminal complaint against him – has been posted by CNY Central.

Anthony Vita: Call me I got the best of it all.
Anthony Vita: They are called king of torts
MA: Do you have a car
Anthony Vita: Yes
Anthony Vita: Where are you and how many
MA: Can you do 7 for 65
Anthony Vita: Yes
MA: Are you sure they are good I haven’t used in 5 months having a bad day need something good and can you spare a new point please?
Anthony Vita: I’m coming and got U a point

“It was with a fiery spirit [that Morgan] endeavored to conquer her demons in this life,” said Axe’s family in her obituary, according to NBC News. “Her dreams were to someday open a dog rescue, while also helping others with their battles against addiction.”

Now, the D.E.A. contends that it will seek to make Vita pay with severe jail time – 20 years to life in a federal prison – for what it believes is his role in helping squash that dream.

The arrest, unfortunately, also comes as several different law-enforcement agencies at the state and federal level work to fight a stunning number of reports of heroin use among women who are with child.

In fact, as NBC News noted, a 2013 investigation alongside Reuters found that 27,000 children were born in the U.S. that were dependent on drugs while a separate study revealed that one in five mothers who collect Medicaid benefits used some form of opiates between 2000 and 2007.

[Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]