Claim: Employee killed by manager

Question

Young woman inhales a substance given to her by her manager and later dies. Manager is faced with murder charges.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, this story is true. According to FOX 26, on August 2nd, Erica Russell and Eric Sembera were out celebrating Erica's birthday when Eric repeatedly asked her if she wanted to do a bump in the parking lot outside a bar. Although Sembera claimed it was fentanyl, Erica's parents have expressed doubts about her willingness to knowingly consume the drug, given her three months of sobriety in solidarity with her father, as well as her personality and tendencies. While driving her back home, Sembera noticed that Russell was nodding off and unresponsive. Sembera rushed her to the ER, but upon arrival, a security guard noticed visible narcotics in Sembera's vehicle and alerted the police. Sembera claims that when Russell woke up, she insisted on leaving and removed her IV against medical advice. Sembera then dropped her off at her house and she wasn't heard from since. Two days later, on August 4th, officers found her deceased at home after conducting a welfare check, as she had missed work and failed to answer phone calls. Eric Sembera was arrested and charged with first-degree fentanyl murder by delivery.

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/tomball-eric-sembera-charged-fentanyl-murder-erica-russell

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/one-night-ended-everything-24-year-old-found-dead-after-birthday-man-charged-murder-out-bond

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/06/it-is-a-death-sentence-tomball-man-faces-fentanyl-murder-charge-in-coworkers-death/

Answer 2

It is true because her manager Eric Sembera was charged with first degree fentanyl murder by delivery. I found a FOX 26 article that obtained a charging document from Harris County District Court detailing the evidence and investigation against Eric Sembera.

Comments

Going forward please include a URL to your source. Thanks!

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You have made a great point that I have investigated myself but I do believe that you should expand more on why this is true and also include some sources that you have used to make this statement true not only from Fox 26. I would also expand on the Fox 26 article and what they have stated through this investigation and what were the ending results that they have found. I would included the articles that you have used so others that read your statement could look at those websites and see if you statement is true with what those websites had to say about it.

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Could you provide links to the article/sources you used to find this information? Although this statement is proven true by other users and by reliable sources found by searching, it would be beneficial to elaborate on the evidence you mentioned in your answer to provide a more reputable claim.

Source:
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/tomball-eric-sembera-charged-fentanyl-murder-erica-russell

Answer 3

This claim is unfortunately true. According to FOX 26, Erica Russell had a nigh out with her friends and manager. As they were arriving to a bar in Tomball, Texas which Sembera had asked Russell if she wanted to take a pump before they had went in. He disclosed to the police that after she had consumed the fentanyl that's when he told her that he had given her fentanyl which her family doesn't agree that he had told her. As they were driving back to Russell's apartment she became unresponsive and had taken her to the ER where the security guard had seen narcotics in the car which the officers were told about. Once she had woken up after being in the hospital, Russell wanted leave so they did. In the article by FOX 26, they have stated that they only dropped Russell at her apartment. Under the congress.gov website, the "Felony murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act" was passed in 2023 and it states "Whoever is guilty of murder in the first degree by distributing fentanyl shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for life," which i am unsure if he is on bond for the 100,000 that both sources state. There was also a search that happened of Sembera's home and vehicle which they also found paraphernalia and his girlfriend was also charged for possession. FOX 26 is a reliable source that has gotten their information from obtaining a charge document from the Harris County District that have gotten evidence and investigation against Eric Sembera.

Sources I used:

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/tomball-eric-sembera-charged-fentanyl-murder-erica-russell

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/one-night-ended-everything-24-year-old-found-dead-after-birthday-man-charged-murder-out-bond

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/380/text#:~:text=380%20%2D%20Felony%20Murder%20for%20Deadly,118th%20Congress%20(2023%2D2024)

Answer 4

As sad as it may be, this statement is unfortunately true. The recently turned 24 year old Erica Russell had been out celebrating her birthday in Tomball, Tx with some of her friends and coworkers when things took a turn for the worse. Before getting the night started, the young women was offered a "bump" of powder by her 26 year old coworker, Eric Sembera, which was later found to be laced with fentanyl. Russell never made it out of the parking lot and was later rushed to the hospital but her very own coworker who had laced her. Law enforcement was later informed that after briefly visiting the hospital, Sembera took Russell back to his apartment, where she was never seen again. After 4 months of investigating, Sembera was charged with a first degree felony. Fentanyl use has continued to increase, and for the first time ever, the City of Tomball had enough evidence to directly charge someone with a fentanyl charge.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/06/it-is-a-death-sentence-tomball-man-faces-fentanyl-murder-charge-in-coworkers-death/

Answer 5

Unfortunately, this story and claim is true.

This dailymail news report seems to be actually from click2houston, an NBC related news channel reporting news specifically from Houston, Texas.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/12/06/it-is-a-death-sentence-tomball-man-faces-fentanyl-murder-charge-in-coworkers-death/

Law&Crime, an multi-platform network also did a report on this story. On their news story, they also found the affidavit for this case. The State of Texas v. Sembera. The document covers the story from the first responding officer's point of view and qoutes from Sembera. At the end, the court charged Sembera with a felony, murder and confirmed that Russell died because of the ingestion of a substance given by Sembera.

The court case document: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25448488-sembera-affidavit/

Answer 6

​In August 2024, 24-year-old Erica Russell tragically died after allegedly being given fentanyl by her coworker, Eric Sembera, during her birthday celebration in Tomball, Texas. Sembera admitted to offering her the drug, but Russell's family disputes that she knowingly consumed fentanyl, especially given her recent commitment to sobriety. After she became unresponsive, Sembera took her to the ER, where hospital staff noticed narcotics in his vehicle and alerted authorities. Russell later left the hospital against medical advice and was found dead two days later. Sembera was arrested and charged with first-degree fentanyl murder by delivery. His girlfriend also faces drug possession charges. This case falls under the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act of 2023, which classifies fentanyl distribution resulting in death as first-degree murder, punishable by life imprisonment or death.Congress.gov | Library of Congress+1Congress.gov | Library of Congress+1

Answer 7

A 26-year-old restaurant manager in Tomball, Texas, Eric Sembera, has been charged with fentanyl murder by delivery for causing the death of 24-year-old Erica Russell. His friend is a co-worker. After celebrating Erica Russell’s birthday, Sembera reportedly provided her a “bump” of confirmed narcotic fentanyl via her phone. He reported to law enforcement, according to FOX 26, “she hesitated at first, and when he asked again because they were about to pull into the parking lot, ‘she finally was just like, okay whatever, do it. And so I pulled out a little bit and dropped it on her phone,”. Sembera is quoted as acknowledging that he and his girlfriends would take the narcotic daily. Later that night, Sembera noticed Russell was nodding off and not responding, and he then provided him mouth-to-mouth while driving to an emergency room. When Russell woke up, Sembera said she wanted to leave the ER, and they left, driving her home. After not responding to phone calls or not showing up to work, police later discovered her dead at her apartment. The Daily Mail mentions Sembera's history of addiction and the emotional toll it has taken on Russell's mother. However, they still clarify that he faces a newly established first-degree felony prosecution under Texas law. The charge that the worker was "killed by her manager" is therefore partially accurate. Still, it should be interpreted in the context of a criminal prosecution involving fentanyl rather than intentional homicide.

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/tomball-eric-sembera-charged-fentanyl-murder-erica-russell