New York woman indicted on fentanyl-laced killings tied to robberies; three victims dead

A New York woman, Tabitha Bundrick, 36, was indicted on 11 counts including murder, robbery, burglary and assault after prosecutors said she used fentanyl-laced drugs to incapacitate four men and rob them, resulting in three fatalities. Bundrick pleaded not guilty in a brief arraignment, and prosecutors described the case as a calculated pattern of violence in Manhattan.

Prosecutors said the alleged crimes occurred between 2023 and 2024 in Manhattan's Washington Heights. On April 20, 2023, Bundrick allegedly approached two men on a street under the pretense of selling soap, offered to have sex in exchange for money, and led them to an empty apartment she had broken into, where she allegedly provided fentanyl-laced drugs that she claimed were cocaine. One man woke the next morning to find his friend, 42-year-old Mario Paullan, dead beside him and their belongings missing. The other man had little or no memory of what occurred.

A second fatal incident occurred on Sept. 27, 2023, in Washington Heights when Bundrick met Miguel Navez, 39, and accompanied him back to his apartment. She allegedly supplied him with fentanyl-laced drugs, and Navez died within days; his brother found him dead three days later and his personal belongings were missing.

The third fatal incident occurred on Feb. 25, 2024, when Bundrick followed Abrihan Fernandez, 34, to his apartment building, provided him with fentanyl-laced drugs, and took several large bags from the apartment. Prosecutors said Bundrick used Fernandez's credit card multiple times, as well as stolen cellphones belonging to the other men.

Bundrick is accused of using the stolen items to profit further, including charges tied to credit card use and device theft, in connection with the same string of incidents in Washington Heights.

Bundrick, who pleaded not guilty at the arraignment, had previously pleaded guilty in February to federal drug-related charges arising from the same deaths and was sentenced on Aug. 6 to serve 156 months in prison. Her lawyers have argued in a sentencing memo that Bundrick is not a calculated killer but a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who functions intellectually at a basic level and is a mother; they contend she used drugs to cope with prostitution and did not intend to kill anyone, noting that she used the same drugs with all three victims.

Federal prosecutors filed a separate sentencing memo asserting that even if Bundrick did not intend to kill, she knew the fentanyl could be lethal and supplied it to the victims anyway, continuing to drug additional men.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg described the alleged conduct as extremely calculated and pointed to other recent cases in New York where people were drugged and robbed, including incidents outside nightclubs. Bragg stated that such behavior will not be tolerated in Manhattan as the case proceeds toward trial.

The indictment covers events spanning 2023 and 2024 in Washington Heights and related charges in state court. A trial date has not yet been announced, and Bundrick remains in custody pending further proceedings.