Valerie Hamilton Update: Drug Withdrawal Postpones Suspect's Extradition to N.C.

CHARLOTTE, NC (CBS/WBTV/AP) The extradition of the man accused in the death of a North Carolina police chief's daughter has been postponed because he is reportedly suffering from severe drug withdrawal, according to a report.

PICTURES: Valerie Hamilton Murdered

Michael Harvey, a convicted sex offender, is accused of killing Valerie Hamilton, whose body was found Saturday in a Charlotte, N.C. self-storage unit. Police say Harvey was the last person seen with Hamilton after the two reportedly left a Charlotte bar together.

The 34-year-old Harvey was being escorted into an Upstate New York courtroom for his first hearing Tuesday when he protested that he did not murder Hamilton, claiming she died of a heroin overdose. He waived extradition before Niagara County Court judge Matthew Murphy saying he would not fight extradition and would return to Charlotte, reports WBTV.

However, that process has been delayed - possibly until this weekend - because of Harvey's extreme withdrawal symptoms, according to local station WGRZ.

Harvey told police that he and Hamilton took some black tar heroin the night they left the bar, and when he woke up, he claims she was dead, reports WBTV. He apparently told childhood friend, Paul Maikranz that he put Hamilton's body in a storage unit because he panicked.

Valerie's father, Chief Merl Hamilton spoke for the first time since reports were released confirming evidence of drug use in his daughter's death.

"If I wasn't in law enforcement I would probably say he killed my daughter," Chief Hamilton told WSOC in Charlotte, N.C. "But because I know killed means murder, you know, first degree murder, I don't know. I don't know enough about it to say that...I think if he wasn't with my daughter that night she would be alive."

According to the Executive Director at Dilworth Center for Chemical Dependency, Charles Odell, coming off a drug like heroine can be brutal. The director says the detoxification period could last about a week, depending on the level of usage.

Late Tuesday afternoon, police said in a statement that Hamilton did not seem to die of any apparent physical trauma and that medical examiners "found evidence of drug usage," according to WBTV.

Police also revealed that witnesses said when Hamilton was last seen she "appeared to need immediate medical attention" - but that Harvey neglected pleas from witnesses for him to get her help.

Complete Coverage Of Valerie Hamilton On Crimesider