Jury Convicts Former Nurse Kimberly Clark Saenz of Capital Murder in Bleach Deaths of Five Dialysis Patients
Two patients said they saw her inject bleach into other patients' lines at a Lufkin clinic in 2008. She was sentenced to life without parole.
Published
Patients at a dialysis clinic in Lufkin, Texas, began suffering cardiac arrests in April 2008. On March 30, 2012, a jury convicted former nurse Kimberly Clark Saenz of capital murder in five of their deaths.
The Angelina County jury, ruling after an 18-day trial in state court, found Saenz, 38, guilty of capital murder in the deaths of Clara Strange, Thelma Metcalf, Garlin Kelley, Cora Bryant and Opal Few, and of aggravated assault on three other patients. Prosecutors said she injected bleach into patients' dialysis lines at the clinic, which was run by DaVita Inc. On April 28, 2008, two patients told staff they had seen her draw bleach into syringes and inject it into the dialysis lines of two other patients. Forensic tests found bleach in the clinic's bloodlines and syringes, the suspected victims tested positive for a marker of bleach exposure, and a computer Saenz used showed searches for "bleach poisoning" and "can bleach be detected in dialysis lines."
Saenz had been fired in April 2008 and was charged a year later. Her lawyers argued that the clinic's owner was targeting her over faulty procedures at the facility. She faced life in prison or a death sentence, and she was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for capital murder plus 20 years for each assault conviction. The Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio affirmed the judgment in 2015.
The Associated Press reported that Saenz was accused of injuring five other patients, while the appeals court recorded that the jury convicted her on three of those counts and acquitted her on two.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney, District Attorney Laud Law Enforcement on Collaborative Efforts, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas
- Saenz v. State, No. 04-12-00238-CR, Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourth District, San Antonio (via FindLaw)
- Jury finds ex-Texas nurse guilty in bleach deaths, Salon (Associated Press)