MOTHER INDICTED IN DEATH OF SON, 13, BY HEROIN OVERDOSE

WOODBURY -- Mary Alice Tobin, the Washington Township woman who was arrested
on drug charges shortly after her son died of a drug overdose in February,
has been indicted on a charge of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the
boy's death, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office announced yesterday.

The 41-count indictment was handed up by a county grand jury late Tuesday,
the prosecutor's office said. Tobin, 41, has been held on full cash bail of
$100,000 in the county Women's Detention Center in

Clarksboro since her arrest on Feb. 4, the day after her 13-year-old son,
Daniel, was found dead by his grandfather, Charles Sharkey, at the family's
Washington Township home. Hours after the boy was discovered, his mother was
arrested on charges of selling cocaine and marijuana to teenagers,
possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Neighbors said they often saw teenagers hanging around the one-story house
in the 100 block of Spruce Street during odd hours in the months preceding
Daniel Tobin's death.

"This is a case that has outraged our community, a 13-year-old boy died for
no reason whatsoever," Prosecutor Andrew N. Yurick said. "We intend to
prosecute this case to the best of our ability."

Daniel Tobin was an eighth grader at the Bunker Hill Middle School. He was
found dead at home in the Gardendale section of town when his grandfather
attempted to wake him for school. A syringe was found in the boy's bedroom
along with an empty glassine bag.

Sharkey, 80, said in an interview yesterday that he was angry at the
prosecutor's office for taking so long to develop a case against his
daughter.

"It took a long time to decide that -- since February," he said. "This is
September. If anything, it [Daniel's death] is a bad accident that
happened."

Yurick said prosecutors moved very methodically against Tobin because it was
a very complicated case. "We submitted every bit of evidence from our
investigation, and the grand jury made a determination of what the charges
should be," he said.

Acting First Assistant Prosecutor Keith M. Warburton, who will try the case,
was not available for comment. Tobin's lawyer, Public Defender Neil A.
Hartman, was out of town on vacation and could not be reached. Hartman's
supervisor, Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey A. Wintner, declined to comment,
but said Hartman would be involved with arraignment conferences later this
month.

Other charges stemming from the county grand jury indictment include two
counts of endangering the welfare of children and numerous counts of
possessing and distributing various drugs, including cocaine and heroin.

Checked-by: Don Beck