‘He watched her deteriorate before his eyes’: Dentist convicted of killing girlfriend who overdosed on anesthetics

Dr. James Michael Ryan (YouTube screenshot) and Sarah Harris (Montgomery County State

Dr. James Michael Ryan (YouTube screenshot) and Sarah Harris (Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office)

A 50-year-old dentist and oral surgeon in Maryland is facing more than 50 years in prison for killing his 25-year-old girlfriend last year after she fatally overdosed on addictive anesthesia medications on an at-home IV station he had set up in the home they shared.

A jury in Montgomery County on Friday deliberated for less than three hours before finding Dr. James Michael Ryan guilty of one count of second-degree depraved heart murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Sarah Harris, authorities announced.

Following the two-week trial, jurors also found Ryan guilty on charges of possession with the intent to distribute midazolam and distribution of ketamine and diazepam.

“Dr. James Ryan — a well-trained oral surgeon, skilled in what he did, an expert in his field. He knew the risks of these drugs better than anyone,” Montgomery County Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Harrison told jurors, according to a report from The Washington Post. “And despite his vast knowledge and training in the field, he continuously provided these dangerous, deadly anesthetic drugs to Sarah Harris over a period of time even as he watched her deteriorate before his eyes.”

“Every time he gave her those drugs — whether he administered them or whether he instructed her on how to administer them to herself — a little bit of Sarah died,” Harrison added. “Until he gave them to her one too many times. And he killed her, he killed Sarah Harris. He created this risk.”

In a press release, authorities said the investigation into Ryan began when authorities responded on Jan. 26, 2022, to a call about an overdose at the home Ryan and Harris were renting in the 13900 block of Godwit Street in Clarksburg, Maryland.

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