Family staged intervention night before woman died from overdose

The young woman’s relatives were so concerned about her “increasingly worse pill usage” that they gathered to stage an intervention.

But Avianna Cavanaugh, 20, was not receptive that evening on March 17, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

She was dead less than 24 hours later.

The woman’s “demise” was outlined in the heavily redacted arrest reports of a dating couple accused of selling Cavanaugh counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl hours before her death.

Christopher Gonzalez, 23 and Tylar Hager, 24, who appeared in court Tuesday, were charged this month with second-degree murder and conspiracy to violate the Uniformed Controlled Substance Act.

The suspects remained at the Clark County Detention Center with no bail on Wednesday, and were next due in court on March 8, Las Vegas Justice Court logs show.

Las Vegas police allege that the couple had been selling fentanyl-laced pills for a while, and that Gonzalez was Cavanaugh’s dealer.

To highlight the point that they were allegedly trafficking with fentanyl, the synthetic opioid described as being many times stronger than morphine, police outlined their arrest history in the months following Cavanaugh’s death.

Gonzalez was taken into custody at least four times — in April, June, August and October — and in each instance, police found pills that tested positive for fentanyl, police said.

When Gonzalez was arrested in April, police said, they found a “plethora” of drugs in his car, including cocaine, methamphetamine and a variety of pills, some of which tested positive for fentanyl. In addition, officers found cash, “baggies,” a digital scale and glass pipes, according to his arrest report.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported that Cavanaugh, who died from the toxic effects of fentanyl and hydroxyzine, was one of four acquaintances killed in overdoses during a five-month period beginning in late October 2020.

Cavanaugh’s boyfriend summoned first responders to his place midday on March 18.

The young man told investigators that he had picked up his girlfriend from her house the previous night because she had gotten into a quarrel with her parents, police said.

When he arrived, his girlfriend told him that she had taken the anxiety medication Xanax and that she was having trouble breathing, police said.

At his place, they smoked marijuana and watched TV before they went to sleep, police said. She was dead when he woke up.

Detectives learned that Cavanaugh had a history of substance abuse dating back to when she was 13, when she started smoking marijuana to deal with anxiety, police said.

But by 2018, she was open about taking opioid-based prescription pills, and her loved ones believed she had recently also started using heroin, police said.

Using Cavanaugh’s cellphone records, police identified Gonzalez, who was listed as “Chris Gucci” in her contacts.

Police said she met up with Gonzalez after her family’s futile intervention effort and bought pills.

Anyone with information may contact Metro at 702-828-3521 or homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppesrofnv.com.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.