CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man accused in the 2010 overdosing death of Valerie Hamilton pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and several other charges on Friday.
Michael Neal Harvey, 37, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and concealing a death, and admitted his status as an habitual felon.
He was sentenced to 87 to 114 months in prison.
The charges stem from the overdose death of Hamilton.
According to police, Harvey and Hamilton met at a restaurant and then went back to Harvey’s home to do heroin.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, there was evidence Harvey injected Hamilton with heroin, but was ultimately deemed inconclusive.
After his arrest, Harvey denied ever injecting Hamilton with drugs, but he did admit to interfering with her ability to get medical treatment. He moved her to a motel, a point prosecutors argued proved the involuntary manslaughter charge.
Witnesses who saw Hamilton and Harvey together said she appeared incoherent, but alive. Harvey reportedly attributed Hamilton’s behavior to being drunk.
After a night in the motel, Harvey awoke to find her dead, so he wrapped Hamilton’s body in a sheet, hid her body in a storage unit and fled to New York.
Hamilton’s body was found two days later. Harvey was arrested four days after hiding Hamilton’s body.
Hamilton’s friends said she had struggled with a cocaine addiction.
At the time of her death, Hamilton’s blood and urine contained cocaine, morphine, pain killers and a blood alcohol level of 0.18.
The medical examiner concluded her death was from the combined toxicity of heroin and cocaine.
Hamilton’s father, former Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton, issued a statement after the hearing:
"Valerie's family would like to thank all of the law enforcement officers who assisted in investigating this case, particularly those of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. We would also like to thank the members of the District Attorney's office who worked very hard to find justice for everyone involved. Lastly, we would like to thank the community for their support. Valerie was always accountable for mistakes she made in her life. As her father, I am acutely aware of my responsibility for the mistakes she and I collectively made in her life. Her family hopes Mr. Harvey is able to confront his responsibility for the role he played in her death. Because of the immense pain and discomfort the media attention in this case causes Val's family, this is the only comment anyone in the family will make concerning this case."
On Friday night, just hours after the plea deal was accepted, the District Attorney’s Office defended the decision to charge Harvey with murder two years ago.
However, prosecutors felt like they lacked the evidence for a conviction and reached out to the victim’s family at the beginning of the week.
“It is an absolutely tragic story and our hearts go out to the family,” said Assistant District Attorney Bill Bunting.
Two other charges against him, one for drugs and another for guns, have been dropped.