‘Take your medicine’: Woman who blamed sister for losing custody plotted with sibling’s boyfriend to murder her, police say

At first, New Jersey cops thought 21-year-old Emily Cruddas died in 2023 of a suicidal drug overdose. But after nearly two years of investigating, detectives have charged Cruddas’ boyfriend and her sister for injecting 10 to 15 bags of heroin and fentanyl into her hand.

Sarah Errickson, 36, and Joseph Ragan, 22, are now behind bars on charges of murder and conspiracy. Troopers with the New Jersey State Police responded Feb. 16, 2023, to a home on East Sunrise Road in Upper Township for a reported overdose. They found the unresponsive Cruddas inside. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

More from Law&Crime: Cop tried to bring 60 MDMA pills wrapped in Skittles packages onto cruise ship hosting 4-day dance party, police say

According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI, Cruddas had survived a previous suicide attempt after she suffered a miscarriage. With that in mind, police initially ruled her death a suicide.

But that all changed about a month after Cruddas’ death when Ragan came to police with a startling admission: That he and Errickson had injected an unconscious Cruddas with drugs. Ragan alleged that after Cruddas came home from the hospital after the suicide attempt, Errickson gave her sister two capsules filled with crushed Xanax pills. Errickson then apparently took 10 to 15 bags of fentanyl-laced heroin and placed them into a syringe.

When Cruddas was incapacitated, Errickson injected the heroin into her sister’s hand, saying “take your medicine” while Ragan covered her mouth, he allegedly told cops. With the new information in hand, authorities changed the manner of death as “undetermined” as the investigation continued. More information came to light in April when someone turned over a backpack with 15 wax folds of suspected heroin inside. It came from the same batch as the heroin found next to Cruddas’ body, cops reportedly determined.

The unnamed witness in an interview with investigators confirmed Ragan’s version of events, giving police the information they needed to make arrests. According to the affidavit, the witness said Errickson killed her sister because she blamed Cruddas for losing her custody of her children. Errickson had previously spoke of killing her sister and decided injecting her with drugs was the best way to do it, according to cops.

Police obtained an arrest warrant for murder and took Errickson into custody last month. She remains at the Cape May County Jail without bond. Cops arrested Ragan in Iowa on Jan. 30. He’s awaiting extradition back to the Garden State.