ROCKVILLE, Maryland (AP) — Dr. James Michael Ryan, a Maryland oral surgeon, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after being found guilty in the death of his girlfriend, Sarah Harris. Harris died from an overdose on January 26, 2022, in Dr. Ryan’s home in Clarksburg, Md. State Circuit Court Judge Cheryl A. McCally ordered the severe sentence on Wednesday, holding Dr. Ryan responsible for providing drugs from his office to Harris, leading to her death.
According to court records, Dr. Ryan stated that he found Harris unresponsive on the couch, surrounded by used hypodermic needles and several bottles of controlled dangerous substances nearby. Despite intervention from Montgomery County Fire Rescue, Harris passed away. Dr. Ryan, initially faced arrest and charges related to Harris’s death in March 2022, was convicted on one count of second-degree depraved heart murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, and charges related to drug possession and distribution.
The jury found Dr. Ryan guilty in connection to Harris’s death, stating that he had offered to bring home and administer drugs from his practice to help alleviate Harris’s anxiety and help her sleep. Prosecutors argued that Dr. Ryan’s knowledge of these drugs meant that he understood just how risky they were for Harris, ultimately leading to her death.
Dr. Ryan and Harris met in 2020 when she visited his oral surgery practice. By January 2021, they had initiated a romantic relationship, and by the summer of 2021, they were living together. Prosecutors disclosed that Dr. Ryan even offered to alleviate Harris’s anxiety by providing her with sedatives sourced from his practice. Harris was found to weigh only 83 pounds at the time of her death.
Dr. Ryan has been sentenced to 45 years in a state correctional facility in connection to the death of Sarah Harris. This case sheds light on the dangerous consequences of the misuse of prescription drugs and the ethical responsibilities of medical professionals to their patients.