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| Sally Jordan Hill |
Joyner went into the Center for Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery on Billingsley Road in Charlotte on April 10, 2001, for an outpatient surgical procedure. According to authorities, the mini facelift surgery went well and Joyner was awake and talking when she was put in a recovery room.
Hill, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at the practice, was monitoring Joyner's progress. Officers said after a short time in the recovery room- Joyner became unresponsive and went into respiratory arrest. Medical staff at the cosmetic surgery center tried to resuscitate Joyner before she was transported by paramedics to Mercy Hospital Main. Joyner died five days later.
Autopsy results show the 45-year-old mother of two died from a fatal overdose of fentynal, a powerful painkiller. No charges were filed initially, but someone contacted the district attorney's office in January with new information. Prosecutors asked the cold case unit to look into case and those officers obtained probable cause for an arrest through interviews.
Authorities would not comment on the relationship between the woman or speculate on a possible motive, but they did say the women had known each other since they were young girls.
Det. Chuck Henson of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Joyner's family was shocked by news of the arrest. He said they never suspected foul play was involved. The state nursing board investigated Hill after Joyner's death and found her negligent, but representatives said they were surprised by the charges.
The state medical board also suspended the license of the doctor who performed Joyner's surgery, Dr. Peter Tucker, in 2003 because it said he lacked effective supervision of Hill. His license was reinstated in 2005. The medical board members said despite the arrest, they still believe Tucker didn't adequately supervise his nurse. Source: WSOC-TV