Boardman police are investigating two, apparent drug-related deaths, those of Daniel Joseph Niehorster, 26, of 4641 South Ave., on Tues., Feb. 11; and Gina Marie Pascarella, 31, of 31 Loch Heath Lane, on Thurs., Feb. 14. Both deaths are heroin-related, Police Chief Jack Nichols indicated this week.
      Niehorster was found dead in his bedroom by his step-father, William Moczan.
      Moczan told police about 1:45 p.m. that he knocked on Niehorster’s bedroom door and when he received no answer, he opened the door and found Niehorster “lying half on his bed and half on the floor.
      “He walked over and nudged Niehorster to wake him and discovered he was cold to the touch and unresponsive,” Officer Patrick Klingensmith said.
      The policeman said there appeared to be a fresh injection wound on the top of Niehorster’s left hand.
      Investigator’s found a white, powdery substance on a dresser drawer that field-tested positive for heroin, Officer Klingensmith said.
      Also on the scene, Mahoning County Coroner’s Investigator Theresa Valek, who found a burnt spoon and a hypodermic needle in the dresser, Officer Klingensmith said.
      Near 10:00 p.m. on Feb. 14, the Boardman Fire Department was sent to 31 Loch Heath Lane on a call of a “barely conscious female.”
      Pascarella’s step-mother, Dolly Pascarella, told firemen that her step-daughter had complained of shortness of breath and had been restless all day long, prompting her to call the fire department.
      Firemen and ambulance crews made efforts to stabilize Pascarella and she was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boardman where she was pronounced dead 90 minutes later.
      A report filed by Officer Michael Longo of the Boardman Police Department indicated the victim’s step-mother had told a representative of a organ procurement service that Gina had been using heroin the day she died.