DA: Student left girlfriend to die of heroin overdose in dorm

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- A Hofstra University student has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the heroin overdose death of his girlfriend, reports CBS New York.

Joseph Joudah, 19, of Islip Terrace, N.Y., was taking heroin with his 19-year-old girlfriend, Olivia McClellan, in her dorm room at the Long Island college on April 18, prosecutors said.

McClellan began to overdose and Joudah stayed with her for about three hours, according to prosecutors.

"She began to have a very adverse reaction -- eyes rolling back in her head, legs shaking, difficulty breathing," Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas said. "He stayed with her for a little bit -- patting her on the back, slapping her to revive her -- but never once calling 911."

About 17 hours later, Joudah placed an anonymous call to campus security and officials found McClellan's lifeless body in her dorm room, prosecutors said.

Joudah pleaded not guilty Friday to manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other charges.

Bail was set at $10,000.

Joudah's lawyer said his client is distraught over the death and the injection was consensual. Both Joudah and his girlfriend bought the heroin together and both were addicts, his lawyer said.

It is the first time someone has been charged in Nassau with manslaughter for a heroin-injection death, Singas said.

Singas pointed out that New York has a "Good Samaritan Law," which provides legal protection for those who call 911 to help an overdose victim.

"If they are doing the right thing, and calling the police, and rendering assistance and making sure that help is on the way, the law takes that into consideration," Singas said. "This woman's life could've been saved."