Guilty plea in OD death

Marie Antoinette Gascot could face a maximum of five years in state prison.

Marie Antoinette Gascot pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter
Thursday for the drug overdose death of a friend.

Dena Seibert was found by police in the 400 block of East Princess
Street on Sept. 3, 2004. York City Police confirmed she died from an
overdose of heroin and determined that Gascot, also known as Toni
Jones, had injected Seibert with it.

Before charges were filed in May, Gascot left for Las Vegas. She was
arrested there June 7 on York County warrants for homicide, drug
delivery resulting in death, possession of heroin and possession of
drug paraphernalia.

At her December sentencing hearing, Gascot's attorney, Joanne Floyd,
will be allowed to argue that Gascot's role in Seibert's death does
not rise above reckless endangerment. Depending on which charge Judge
Penny L. Blackwell determines is appropriate, Gascot faces a possible
sentence ranging from time served, about five months, to a maximum of
five years in state prison.

Thursday, Gascot, 37, admitted injecting her friend "because she
asked me to." She told Blackwell that she and Seibert had used heroin
together in the past and that she had injected Seibert "maybe seven
or eight times."

"We had gotten high several times before," Gascot said. "She was a
friend. She had trouble injecting herself."

Gascot said she had no intention of harming Seibert. And when the
woman lost consciousness, she attempted to revive her by putting her
in a bathtub of cold water and injecting her with salt water "because
I heard that sometimes helps."

She said she got Seibert, who was having trouble breathing, into bed
but the woman began vomiting. Gascot said she did not want to get the
apartment resident in trouble, so she dressed Seibert, put her in a
wheel chair, moved her outside and called 911.

Blackwell questioned Gascot on allegations she was a drug dealer who
sold a strong type of heroin. According to York City Police reports,
the heroin that killed Seibert was stamped "Murder Inc."

"I'm not a drug dealer, I'm a user," Gascot said, explaining she
bought the heroin from "this guy" that she dealt with "on a regular basis."

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bill Graff said the "stronger-than-usual"
heroin was too much for Seibert's system.

Blackwell authorized Gascot's release on supervised bail, subject to
random drug screens, until her sentencing.