Two parents of children (identified only by their first names and last initials) who had died while using drugs obtained on Silk Road spoke to the court. Richard B., whose 25-year-old son died of a heroin overdose, expressed his anger at the people who have defended Ulbricht publicly. “Since Mr Ulbricht’s arrest, we have endured the persistent drumbeat of his supporters and their insistence that Silk Road was victimless,” he said. “I strongly believe that my son would be here today if Silk Road had never existed.”
Vicky B, whose 16-year-old son died after taking a powerful synthetic at a party and jumping from a second-story roof, said that the time since her son’s death had been unbearable. “This is the photo of the last kiss from my son,” she said, holding up a photo of herself with her son Preston before the school ball where he died.
“We keep Preston’s ashes at home,” she said, her voice breaking. “Sometimes I just hold them. Sometimes I get under a blanket with them and try to get warm.”