On a summer day in Queens, New York, the life of 28-year-old Jean-Alessander Silvero came to a tragic end. On July 11, 2019, he was found deceased in a motel room in Woodside. An investigation into his death would soon uncover a sinister pattern of crimes and lead to the arrest of a woman named Angelina Barini. Security footage from the motel captured Barini, a sex worker, entering the room with Silvero earlier that day.
His death was ultimately ruled to be the result of fentanyl intoxication.
The investigation revealed that Jean-Alessander Silvero was one of several victims of Angelina Barini. Acting as a sex worker, she would meet her clients at various motels across Queens, where she would provide them with drugs laced with lethal doses of fentanyl. Once her victims were incapacitated, she would rob them of their personal belongings and leave them to die. This deadly scheme came to light after a series of similar overdose deaths occurred in a short period. Barini was linked to the deaths of at least three other men between July and August of 2019, including a prominent Italian chef.
In August 2021, Angelina Barini pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of distributing narcotics that led to the deaths of two of her victims, including Jean-Alessander Silvero. She also pleaded guilty to other drug distribution charges. In April 2022, a federal judge sentenced the 43-year-old to 30 years in prison for her crimes. During the sentencing, the prosecution highlighted Barini's "shocking disregard for human life," stating that she "drugged and killed multiple people for a few quick dollars." The case of Jean-Alessander Silvero's death is a harrowing example of the devastating consequences of the opioid crisis and the predatory actions that can accompany it. The investigation and subsequent conviction of Angelina Barini brought an end to her fatal pattern of crimes, though it provided little solace to the families of the victims whose lives were cut short.
