ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — Charges against a former nurse anesthetist related to the death of a plastic surgery patient have been dismissed in part because of new evidence that would make the case difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
The motion to dismiss charges against Rex Meeker indicates that prosecution is "no longer in the interests" of justice due to the discovery of new evidence and interviews since the case was filed earlier this year.
Meeker was facing charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Both charges were formally dismissed on Tuesday.
In addition to the dismissal, the motion says that Meeker agreed to testify against his co-defendant Dr. Geoffrey Kim who also faces charges in connection with the death of 18-year-old Emmalyn Nguyen.
"I think the Nguyen family has some mixed feelings," said David Woodruff, the attorney that represented the Nguyen family in their civil lawsuit. "Everyone knows that Mr. Meeker was originally responsible for the anesthesia that ultimately stopped Emmalyn’s heart, and so while he was ultimately civilly responsible along with Dr. Kim, to have the criminal charges dropped against Mr. Meeker so that he could basically become a witness against Dr. Kim is not surprising, but probably a little bit disappointing,"
Woodruff told 9NEWS the civil suit was settled, but a lot of the pain the Nguyen family felt towards Kim remains.
"Dr. Kim’s conduct was intentional, at least from the family’s perspective," Woodruff explained. "Because he knew the office wanted to call 911 and yet he intentionally instructed them not to do that for whatever reason, and so the family’s emotional response to everything that happened to their daughter has really been focused on Dr. Kim."
Deputies said Nguyen went in for a surgical procedure at Colorado Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery on Aug. 1, 2019, and went into cardiac arrest after being administered anesthesia. She fell into a coma and died 14 months later, deputies said.
9NEWS reached out to Meeker's attorney, Simone Montoya, following the case dismissal. Montoya responded with the following statement:
"This was the right result for Mr. Meeker following a tragic incident and the sad loss of Ms. Nguyen. Mr. Meeker made every effort to save this young woman’s life. There was never any evidence to support the filing of criminal charges against him."
According to the affidavit, it's unclear how much anesthesia Nguyen was actually given because Meeker's notes in the chart are illegible. The document also notes CPR was performed between two and four times at the plastic surgery center.
A nurse who was interviewed reported that she, Meeker and other staff members made "multiple requests" to call 911. She said Kim "would not initially agree" to that and assured staff that Nguyen would wake up "if given some additional time," the affidavit says.
The document goes on to say that Nguyen was given nine separate doses of anesthetic reversal agents, including Narcan, over a one-hour period. An anesthesia expert told investigators that in his 40-year career he has never given a second dose of Narcan. He told investigators that employees should have recognized they needed help when they got no response from the first dose, according to the affidavit.
He said the most doses he has seen given to reverse anesthetics is two, the affidavit reads.
On Aug. 15, 2019, Nguyen's mother went to the police and stated that her daughter was in the hospital with brain damage and that she believed Kim "had caused her to be there," the affidavit says.
She reported that she went to the surgery center on the day of the procedure around 4 p.m. to pick up her daughter because the procedure was only supposed to last roughly two hours. She reported, according to the affidavit, that the office staff told her that her daughter's heart rate had dropped but that she was "fine."
The office staff also told her that the procedure had never started and would need to be rescheduled.
At one point, Kim came out to the waiting room and also told Nguyen's mother she was "fine" but said it was taking longer than expected for her to wake up, the affidavit says.
At roughly 7:30 p.m., Kim told her mother it was time to call 911, the affidavit says. Her mother reported that she was never told CPR was performed and said the first time she heard that was from a nurse at the hospital, the document says.
She reported to police that she spoke to both Kim and Meeker who were told "different versions" of what happened and appeared to be blaming each other, the affidavit says.
As a result of their investigation, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office obtained arrest warrants for Kim and Meeker earlier this year and both were arrested.
Meeker agreed to permanently relinquish his certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) in December 2021, while facing discipline from the state board of nursing related to the incident involving Nguyen.
He also agreed to never apply for a type of licensure granted by that board.
That disciplinary report indicates that Nguyen went into cardiac arrest around 2:20 p.m. and at one point Meeker recommended to the surgeon that she be transferred to a hospital. That same document though says that a 911 call was not made until 7:35 p.m. and Nguyen never regained consciousness.
"I guess my initial reaction to this whole thing is that I think it was a good strategic decision by the District Attorney's office," Woodruff said. "The DA is being very courageous in pursuing these charges against Dr. Kim and even against Mr. Meeker and there is a time in every case where strategically they decide as lawyers. 'Where is the strongest case?' And the strongest criminal case the DA has decided is against Dr. Kim."
Kim has pleaded not guilty and is currently set to go to trial in early February. He is charged with:
- Reckless manslaughter
- Criminally negligent homicide
- Obstructing telephone service
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