Carlos Chacon: California plastic surgeon charged for murdering Megan Espinoza during boob job
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: A California plastic surgeon named Carlos Chacon is charged with killing Megan Espinoza, who died during a boob job. Chacon reportedly 'left' the room to attend to other patients as Espinoza lay dying on the operation table.
Espinoza, 36, experienced a heart attack in December 2018 while having breast augmentation surgery at the Divino Surgery Center in Bonita, San Diego, according to DailyMail. Chacon was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, but murder charges were later added after prosecutors claimed that they found additional proof that his carelessness was to blame for her death. On Monday, April 10, Chacon appeared in court and entered a not-guilty plea to the allegation of second-degree murder.
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'We found that to be extremely egregious'
District Attorney Gina Darvas stated that Chacon allegedly hesitated to dial 911 for more than three hours, forbade his staff from doing so, and left the operating room to attend to four additional patients as Espinoza lay dying, according to DailyMail.
Darvas stated, "He can't be providing life-saving treatment to the victim on the table when he's in his practice seeing other patients. We found that to be extremely egregious." Espinoza, a mother of two, said that Chacon hired an unskilled nurse to deliver the anesthetic to her in an effort to increase revenue.
What was stated in Carlos Chacon's arrest affidavit?
The arrest affidavit claimed that Espinoza suffered a cardiac attack in the middle of the surgery at roughly 2.30 pm, but Chacon neglected to contact for assistance from the emergency services. The document stated, "Chacon made the conscious decision to stop others from providing emergency lifesaving efforts on at least 7 occasions," according to DailyMail.
Chacon also allegedly instructed his staff to cover up her condition and the true circumstances from her husband, Moises Espinoza. Darvas testified before the court that even though Chacon called two doctors to seek their guidance on what to do, he did not fully disclose what had transpired.
One of the doctors advised him to dial 911 at 5.03 pm; however, he didn't really do so until 5.24 pm, over three hours after the patient had a cardiac arrest. Darvas said that Chacon made the "intentional decision" to do the procedure with a nurse who lacked the necessary anesthetic training, according to DailyMail.
What is the status of the case right now?
Prior to his Monday, April 10 court appearance, Chacon had been arrested at his workplace, and despite the fact that the prosecution had asked for a $5 million bail amount, Chacon's bail was only set at $500,000. Chacon won't be allowed to leave California after being released from custody, and he'll have to surrender his passport to his lawyer. The criminal accusations Chacon is facing must also be disclosed to prospective patients, and Chacon needs state approval 72 hours before performing surgery.
Espinoza's family was informed by physicians that they did not expect her to recover neurological function after she spent a month in the hospital in a critical condition. Espinoza died on January 28, 2019. In December 2022, Espinoza's family and Chacon had come to an agreement in their legal dispute.