Doctor won’t be charged for death of a patient whose screams were muffled with a towel
A cosmetic surgeon whose patients died after botched procedures will not face any criminal charges.
Dr Nedra Dodds and her assistant Kevin McCowan at the clinic Opulence Aesthetic Medicine in  Kennesaw, Georgia, were charged with the murder of two patients as well as aggravated battery and theft by deception.
In February 2013, April Jenkins died after a fat-transfer procedure. During the procedure, she repeatedly screamed in pain, saying, “It’s tearing. It’s burning.” However, employees at the clinic only gave her a towel to bite down on her and told her to keep quiet, because she had already reached the maximum sedation they were allowed to give. After the procedure, Jenkins’ heart stopped pumping blood, and an investigation later found that her liver and diaphragm had been lacerated.
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Then, a few months later, Erica Beaubrun also died when her heart stopped beating. She was discovered in a pool of blood without a doctor in charge or anyone giving her CPR.
However, prosecutors in the case against Dodds and McCowan admitted that while Dodds’ medical license was revoked and the clinic shut down, they did not think they could make criminal charges stick.
“I’m extremely, extremely troubled by this case and always have been from the very beginning,” said District Attorney Reynolds. “My obligation is not to be concerned with what I want, what I like, what my opinion is. My decision has to be based on facts and law and in the end, I don’t think the case can be made.”
Jenkins’ family will be pursuing a civil case now that the criminal charges have fallen through.
