A West Hempfield Township woman has been charged with giving a narcotic to a teenage acquaintance who then died after taking the drug, police said.

Investigators say Michelle L. Bachman, 44, provided the pain drug Fentanyl to 18-year-old Christina Albright prior to Albright's death in June.

Police and medical personnel found Albright unresponsive in the basement of her home at 115 Stonehouse Lane after they were called there on the afternoon of June 2.

The teen, a Hempfield High School graduate, was taken to Lancaster General Hospital and then transferred to Hershey Medical Center, where she died June 4, West Hempfield Township police Chief Mark Pugliese said.

An autopsy was performed June 6.

According to a report from the Dauphin County coroner's office, Albright died of multiple drug toxicity and had lethal levels of Fentanyl in her system.

Bachman admitted to police the day after Albright's death that she had given the drug to the teen, investigators said.

Officials said they don't believe Bachman intended to harm the girl.

Pugliese said that Bachman had a prescription for Fentanyl, but he did not know why it had been prescribed to her. He said she has "been cooperative" with authorities.

Fentanyl, which is available in many forms such as a skin patch and tablets, is used to treat chronic pain and many times is prescribed to cancer patients.

Pugliese said he couldn't comment on why Bachman gave the drug to the teen.

Investigators said that Bachman and Albright both lived at the Stonehouse Lane home, with Bachman renting the lower level of the house from Albright's mother.

Asked why it took police seven months to file charges, Pugliese replied, "We wanted to make sure we were very thorough, that the investigation was complete and that all the reports — such as the autopsy, the drug levels — were accurate. These are obviously very serious charges."

As a result of the investigation, Bachman was charged Thursday by Detective George Brace Jr. with drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, delivery of a controlled substance and reckless endangerment.

She was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Robert Herman Jr. and released on $20,000 unsecured bail.

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, whose office assisted with the investigation, said officials do not believe Bachman intended to fatally harm Albright. "We do not believe there was any intent to cause death … which is why we filed the charges we did rather than anything else," Stedman wrote in an email Thursday night.

A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 3.

If convicted of all counts, Bachman would face up to 62 years in prison, including a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence for the charge of drug delivery resulting in death, according to police.

jtodd@lnpnews.com