Man indicted in overdose death of single mom

DELAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A Volusia County grand jury has charged a convicted drug dealer with first-degree murder.  

Steve Montilla, 31, has been indicted in the overdose death of a single Deltona mother of a three-year-old girl.

The family of Jacqueline Griggs discovered her unresponsive at the Parkview Court apartments in Oct. of 2017.  Responding deputies tried to revive Griggs using Narcan nasal spray, but she showed no signs of life. She was pronounced dead minutes later. 

A partially full syringe was found next to her body, and another syringe and baggies of white powder where on the bathroom countertop, according to police. The powder tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.

Detectives said they were able to find a link to Montilla through Griggs' cellphone.  They arranged for a drug transaction, and he was arrested shortly thereafter.

“In every case we can, we’re going to go after these scumbags who are slinging poison on our streets,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Monday. “We’re going to put them behind bars where they belong, where they can’t end the life of another person addicted to their deadly product.”

Montilla was recently sentenced to 39 months in state prison for trafficking heroin and related crimes.