A La Jolla man pleaded guilty Wednesday (June 29) to voluntary manslaughter in the fentanyl death of Sally Manchester Ricchiuti, who died in 2020 from an accidental overdose.
Ricchiuti, 49, of La Jolla, was the daughter of real estate developer/businessman Doug Manchester, who is the former publisher of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and Betsy Manchester.
“It doesn’t look like she knew what she was taking,” said Deputy District Attorney Joel Madero to reporters afterward.
Joshua Alan Breslow, 54, also pleaded guilty to possession of Oxycontin while out on bail, and fentanyl. He stood behind a glass barrier wearing jail clothes while pleading guilty.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Ken So set sentencing for July 28. Breslow remains in the South Bay Detention Facility without bail.
Some of her family members watched the proceedings.
Breslow sold fentanyl-laced pills to Ricchiuti and she died on Sept. 18, 2020.
“The takeaway is no one knows what’s in these pills,” said Breslow’s attorney, Douglas S. Gilliland, afterward. “He’s extremely remorseful.”
“Sally is someone he’s known very well. They went to high school together,” said Gilliland.
She graduated from La Jolla High School in 1988 and graduated from the University of Colorado in 1992, according to her obituary. She had a career in radio and media in Salt Lake City and Boise.
Sally Manchester married Greg Ricchiuti and had three children, Molly, Maggie, and Vincent. She raised funds for the local Fire Station 9 in La Jolla.
Breslow was arrested Oct. 27, 2020 by the Drug Enforcement Administration.