How a Single Overdose Unraveled an Empire of Heroin

New York|How a Single Overdose Unraveled an Empire of Heroin

“Where’s your emergency?” the 911 operator asked.

“Rodeway Inn on Woodstock Avenue in Rutland,” the caller replied, her voice barely under control. “My boyfriend lay down for a nap and he’s not breathing.”

The operator began explaining how to perform CPR, asking whether the boyfriend could be lowered to the floor. The caller, Ginger Parker, was immediately distracted: Their 18-month-old daughter had crawled on top of the still body.

“Honey, get off of him — please!” Ms. Parker pleaded, explaining to the operator that the toddler just wanted to help.

The man she was trying to save that evening in August 2012 was David Blanchard III, who worked the night shift at Rutland Plywood in the small Vermont city. The 28-year-old with a neat goatee, dark hair and kind face lay on his back in a dingy motel room strewn with clothes, a sheet, children’s toys and books, and a pink rubber duck.

The operator told Ms. Parker to place the heel of one hand on the center of her partner’s bare chest, the other on top and to intertwine her fingers. “Push hard and push fast,” the operator said. “You’re going to do it a hundred times a minute.”

Soon, Ms. Parker heard gurgling. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry,” she said. She sounded frantic, exerting herself, breathing heavily.