A Dundee drug dealer has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after supplying the ecstasy that killed his 16-year-old girlfriend.
A Fatal Night and a Guilty Plea
Jay Conway, now 21, wept as he was jailed at Dundee Sheriff Court. He pleaded guilty to supplying the Class A drug on the night Lennix Hughes became fatally ill in March 2023. The apprentice plumber also admitted dealing Class B cannabis over a period of more than two months.
The court heard that Miss Hughes died after ‘bombing’ MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, which Conway had given to her at his home. Paramedics fought to save her, but she was pronounced dead after being taken to Ninewells Hospital.
An Organised Drug Operation Uncovered
Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith noted that Conway was running a drugs operation involving encrypted phones and negotiating discount prices for bulk cannabis purchases. A police raid on his home uncovered £200 in cash, scales, and grinders in an outbuilding.
Cyber crime officers analysed Conway’s two mobile phones, finding images of cannabis and evidence of negotiations for wholesale deals and drop-off arrangements.
‘I Cannot Comprehend the Loss’
Sentencing Conway, Sheriff Niven-Smith said: “As a parent and a human being I empathise with the family of Miss Hughes. I cannot for a moment comprehend the loss they have suffered.”
He added that while the public might hold Conway morally responsible, he was not sentencing him for culpable homicide. “No sentence would ever meet the loss the family have endured,” the sheriff stated.
Conway’s solicitor, Ali Short, said in defence: “This was a horrible end to what he was doing... He has to live with the guilt of that.” In October 2023, Lennix’s mother, Wendy Bertie, described her daughter as “the most loving and caring girl.”
