Man allegedly killed partner with fatal heroin injection during anniversary celebrations

A self-described “junkie” alleged to have injected his partner with heroin almost two years ago while celebrating their anniversary, causing her to overdose, has been accused of killing her.

Christopher Roy Weaver has been handed a charge of manslaughter over the death of Laura Crncevic on 19 August 2021.

By that time, they had been in a relationship for seven years, court documents say.

That evening, he allegedly bought heroin from a dealer and then returned to where he lived in Florey to prepare the drug for his partner and himself.

It is alleged he injected himself first, then used a separate syringe to inject Ms Crncevic. She collapsed about 2o minutes later, so he called Triple Zero and began CPR on her.

Paramedics arrived after 8 pm to find her unresponsive on the floor of the kitchen and tried to help her, while Mr Weaver appeared distraught and yelled, “Come back to me, come back to me. Don’t die”.

She was taken to hospital, but despite the efforts of staff to save her, she was later pronounced deceased.

Early the next morning, Mr Weaver told police that he and Ms Crncevic were regular heroin users and had been celebrating their anniversary that night.

He told them he had prepared two syringes with heroin and injected the drug into her arm, after which she immediately looked unwell.

He also claimed that she never wanted to administer heroin herself and he would always do it with her consent.

In another interview with police later that year, he described himself as a “junkie” and claimed he always gave Ms Crncevic a watered-down dose so she thought she was getting more than she did.

An autopsy reported that the cause of her death was a heroin overdose.

Police began to lawfully intercept Mr Weaver’s phone calls in 2022.

“What happened to my missus was an accident, like I didn’t murder her,” he allegedly said in one phone call.

“I don’t murder – she was the f-ing love of my life.”

Police later reviewed messages on his social media account and allege he sent one to another person that read in part: “She asked me to inject her and I was really high and f-ed her dose up… try living with that guilt”.

In messages to another person, he allegedly said, “I accidentally overdosed her”.

“I overdosed her. It’s my fault. Totally my fault,” it is alleged he wrote.

Mr Weaver was arrested on Monday (24 July) before appearing in the ACT Magistrates Court that afternoon where he was formally charged with manslaughter and administering a declared substance without authorisation.

“This is a tragedy no matter how anyone looks at it,” Special Magistrate Sean Richter said.

“This is an incredibly serious charge.”

He claimed Mr Weaver had told police that he was a heavy heroin user who injected every 12 hours.

Mr Weaver applied to be released on bail, with his lawyer, Legal Aid’s Sam Brown, arguing conditions could reduce any risks.

Mr Brown noted the period of time since Ms Crncevic’s death, being about two years, and said that if he failed to report to a police station under the proposed conditions then he thought there would be “an extensive manhunt”.

But prosecutor Verity Griffin, who opposed bail, said the idea that he be granted bail with the fallback being a manhunt was so adverse to community expectations.

When it came to his alleged drug use, she said he has had two years to abstain from heroin, yet “here we are today”, still talking about it as an active concern.

She also said there had been a “thorough investigation” and alleged an “overwhelming” number of admissions had been made to civilians and police.

Special Magistrate Richter said his concerns were getting Mr Weaver to court, the protection of evidence and the defendant’s wellbeing – saying he could appreciate Mr Weaver was in a dark place at the moment.

He refused bail, remanding him in custody until 21 August. No pleas were entered.