A doctor and nurse accused of negligence in the in- custody death of a woman at the Las Colinas jail in Santee were ordered Monday to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.
Dr. Friederike Von Lintig, 58, and nurse Danalee Pascua, 38, are charged in the death of 24-year-old Elisa Serna on Nov. 11, 2019, five days after Serna was booked into the jail.Their prosecutions come as San Diego County continues to face scrutiny for the number of in-custody deaths at its jail facilities. Eight people have died in local custody this year, including two in the last week.
Both defendants' attorneys said their clients' actions were being examined with the benefit of hindsight. The attorneys also argued their clients were provided information by other nurses and doctors, who indicated Serna was in relatively good condition and may have been faking certain symptoms such as fainting and falling to the floor.
She was taken back into her cell and multiple staff members, including Von Lintig, responded and examined her. About two hours later, nurses witnessed Serna lying across the seat of the toilet in her cell. A nurse requested that Von Lintig return to Serna's cell, but she never did.Video played in court last week showed Serna standing at her cell door, then collapsing.
Pascua's attorney, Alicia Freeze, highlighted testimony from Serina Rognlien-Hood, the sheriff's department director of nursing, who said the position was not necessarily life-threatening. Freeze also noted the county Medical Examiner's Office finding that Serna died of natural causes related to substance abuse, with a contributing factor of early intrauterine pregnancy.
One of Von Lintig's attorneys, Dana Grimes, argued Von Lintig was told by others that Serna appeared to be improving. Though the information she received from other medical staff may have turned out to be incorrect, Grimes argued Von Lintig only saw Serna beginning on Nov. 11 and was relying on information others provided her.
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