EL CAJON, Calif. (CNS) - A video played in court Tuesday detailed the final day in the life of a woman who died in custody at the Las Colinas jail in Santee, a death prosecutors allege was the result of negligence on the part of a nurse and doctor who worked at the jail.
The footage of 24-year-old Elisa Serna's final hours was played during a preliminary hearing in El Cajon Superior Court, in which a judge will determine whether Dr. Friederike Von Lintig, 58, and nurse Danalee Pascua, 38, will go to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges in Serna's death. Both defendants face up to four years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say Von Lintig was the physician on duty on the day Serna died. Pascua witnessed Serna fall inside a medical observation unit cell on the date of her death and prosecutors allege she left Serna lying on the floor of the cell for the next hour.
Serna died on Nov. 11, 2019, about five days after she was arrested for alleged theft and drug offenses. She was moved to the jail's medical observation unit on the day before she died.
Footage from inside her cell showed medical staff attending to her several times throughout the day, including one occasion when she had what San Diego County Sheriff's Detective Lisa Brannan described as a seizure during Tuesday's testimony.
The detective testified that she reviewed all footage capturing Serna's movements inside the jail from the day she was booked until the date of her death.
On the final day of her life, Brannan said Serna appeared noticeably unwell and fell more than a dozen times, though deputies and medical staff did not appear to see most of those instances.
Serna's final collapse was captured on footage and played in court.
In the video, Serna can be seen standing at the cell door talking to someone outside. Brannan testified that through the investigation, she determined Pascua and a deputy were outside the door.
Serna falls to the side and her head strikes a wall. She then falls to the ground and Pascua and the deputy enter the room and check on her.
Serna is seen with her head propped up against the wall while the rest of her body is prone along the floor.
After some time, Pascua and the deputy leave without moving Serna from that position. Serna remained there for the next hour as urine can be seen spreading along the ground from beneath her body.
About an hour later, deputies and nurses entered the cell and began performing CPR. Serna died a short time later.
The preliminary hearing is expected to continue through the week.
Serna's death is also the subject of a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed against the county by her family, who alleged jail staff were aware Serna suffered from substance abuse and subsequent withdrawal symptoms, but did not provide her with treatment. Though Serna was fainting, had low blood pressure, was vomiting regularly and displaying odd and incoherent behavior, jail staff "ignored the obvious signs of medical distress" and "failed to provide proper medication as Elisa's condition was worsening," the complaint alleges.
Along with the county, Von Lintig, Pascua and several others are named as defendants in the ongoing lawsuit.
