Sarah Errickson, left, and Joseph Ragan (Cape May County Correctional Facility)
An Upper Township woman's sister and fiance have pleaded guilty in her 2023 death.
Emily Cruddas, 21, died of a drug overdose Feb. 17, 2023, inside the Upper Township home she shared with her sister, Sarah Errickson.
Three baggies of heroin were stamped "White House" were found nearby.
But Cruddas had not shot the heroin into her system, her fiance would later tell police.
Errickson first incapacitated Cruddas with Xanax, Joseph Augustus Ragan IV said.
He then held his hand over Cruddas' mouth.
"Take your medicine," he Cruddas as he watched Errickson shoot her full of drugs in an attempt to make it look like suicide, an affidavit reads of his confession to investigators.
Ragan detailed how he watched the woman he was supposed to marry struggle to breathe for about seven hours before she died.
Emily Cruddas Timothy Barrus — who was engaged to Errickson at one point — called 911 the next day to report the apparent overdose.
Weeks later, Ragan would go to State Police and tell them what really happened, but it would take two years before Barrus would come forward with his attorney and corroborate Ragan's claims.
Then in January 2025, police charged Errickson and Ragan with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
By then, Ragan was living in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he was arrested Jan. 30, 2025, on a fugitive warrant.
In December, he pleaded guilty to strict-liability, drug-induced death, "not murder," his plea form obtained by BreakingAC states.
He could have faced 20 years in prison on that charge, but was sentenced Monday to five years in prison, per the plea agreement.
Ragan, now 23, must serve 85 percent, or four years and three months, under the No Early Release Act. That will be followed by five years of parole supervision.
He already has credit for the year he has spent in the Cape May County Correctional Facility.
Errickson, now 37, pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree aggravated manslaughter.
Under the agreement, she will be sentenced to an eight-year term as a second-degree offender. She also must serve 85 percent under NERA, or a little more than six years and 9½ months.
She also will have five years of parole supervision upon release.
The terms of Errickson's plea also includes "truthful testimony." Since Ragan already was sentenced that indicates someone else will be charged in the case.
Barrus, who admitted his part per the affidavit, has not been charged at this time.
He and Errickson were once engaged.
Meanwhile, James Cruddas does not believe justice has been served for his daughter.
He said he knows the case was a difficult one to prove, making going to trial risky.
Regardless, he still believes those responsible for his daughter's death should face more time.
"To me, it was all planned out," he said. "It was first-degree murder."
Cruddas said he is not happy with the eight years his daughter's half-sister faces.
"She deserves life but there’s really nothing I can do about it," he said. "All of them deserve life. Hopefully, when they get out of jail, their lives will be miserable and karma with get them back."
