EL CAJON, Calif. — A jail doctor and nurse charged in connection with the death of an inmate appeared in El Cajon court Monday for a preliminary hearing.
They're charged in the death of a young mother, Elisa Serna, age 24, at the Las Colinas jail in 2019.
The nurse, Danalee Pascua, and the on-duty jail doctor at the time, Friederike Von Lintig, are both charged with involuntary manslaughter in Serna's death.
Prosecutors allege the nurse saw Serna fall against a wall in the cell, hitting her head. No medical aid was administered for nearly an hour, according to the victim’s family. Serna was later found dead.
Judge Selena Epley has ruled no cameras would be allowed in court.
A sheriff's detective testified that Serna was pregnant, vomiting, and going through heroin withdrawal in the days before her death.
She was being held in a medical isolation cell that was supposed to be monitored by the jail medical staff.
If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, the doctor and nurse face a maximum of four years in state prison.
The preliminary hearing will continue Tuesday in the El Cajon courthouse, where surveillance video of the woman’s death is expected to be entered into evidence.
After the hearing, which is expected to last three or four days, the judge will rule whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
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