Doctor will NOT be charged for the death of a liposuction patient whose screams were muffled with a towel during the fatal procedure that left her liver and diaphragm lacerated

  • Dr Nedra Dodds, and her assistant Kevin McCowan worked at the clinic Opulence Aesthetic Medicine in Kennesaw, Georgia
  • April Jenkins, 37, died in February 2013 after a fat-transfer procedure, during which she repeatedly screamed: 'It's tearing. It's burning' 
  • Employees put a towel in her mouth to bite down on and told her to keep quiet
  • Jenkins' heart stopped and an investigation found Dodds was absent during parts of the procedure, although it was unclear for how long
  • Five months later, Erica Beaubrun turned up at the clinic for a buttocks reduction and she also died after her heart stopped pumping blood
  • Employees took 22 minutes to call 911, and EMT found Beaubrun in a pool of blood without a doctor in charge or anyone administering CPR
  • Dodds and McCowan were charged with murder, aggravated battery and theft
  • But DA said it would be difficult to build criminal case and charges were dropped

By Jessica Chia For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:37 EST, 13 January 2017 | Updated: 19:22 EST, 13 January 2017

A cosmetic surgeon whose patient screamed in pain and had her liver and diaphragm lacerated during a fatal liposuction procedure will not face criminal charges.

Dr Nedra Dodds and her assistant Kevin McCowan at the clinic Opulence Aesthetic Medicine in  Kennesaw, Georgia, were charged with the murders of two patients in 2013, along with aggravated battery and theft by deception.

While Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said he was 'extremely troubled' but the incidents, the charges were dropped after the prosecutor said he did not believe a criminal case could be made, WSBTV reported.

Dr Nedra Dodds (left) and her assistant Kevin McCowan (right) at the clinic Opulence Aesthetic Medicine in Kennesaw, Georgia, were charged with the murders of two patients in 2013

But those charges were recently dropped after Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said he did not believe a criminal case could be made (pictured, the clinic, which closed down)

April Jenkins, 37, (left) died in February 2013 after a fat-transfer procedure, while Erica Beaubrun (right) passed away in June 2013 after a buttocks reduction

April Jenkins, 37, died in February 2013 after a fat-transfer procedure, during which she repeatedly screamed: 'It's tearing. It's burning.'

Because she had already received the maximum dosage of sedatives, employees at the clinic gave her a towel to bite down on and told her to keep the noise down, the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

When the procedure was finished, Jenkins snored loudly before her heart stopped pumping blood.

An investigation found Jenkins' diaphragm and liver had been lacerated, and Dodds disappeared during parts of the procedure, although records did not show how long those stretches lasted and what happened while she was gone, The AJC reported..  

About five months later, Miami businesswoman Erica Beaubrun turned up at the clinic for a buttocks reduction - and also died after her heart stopped pumping blood.

Employees took 22 minutes to call 911, and emergency responders found Beaubrun in a pool of blood, without a doctor in charge or anyone administering CPR, according to The AJC.

After authorities tried to revive her for 90 minutes, Beaubrun was dead.

Dodds' medical license was revoked in 2015, and the clinic shut down.

Dodds (left) disappeared during parts of Jenkins' procedure, although records did not show how long those stretches lasted and what happened while she was gone. Jenkins screamed during the procedure and employees stuffed a towel in her mouth (right, McCowan)

When Beaubrun's heart stopped pumping blood, employees took 22 minutes to call 911, and EMT found her in a pool of blood without a doctor in charge or anyone administering CPR

Dodds' medical license was revoked in 2015, and the clinic shut down

An administrative law judge reviewed the medical board's decision to first suspend and then revoke her license, and said: 'Dr. Dodds’ conduct grossly departed from the level of care every patient should expect from his or her physician and, in two cases, her failures resulted in the death of a patient under her care.'

But the charges against Dodds and her assistant were dropped after District Attorney Reynolds said he did not believe there was a criminal case against them.

He said: 'I'm extremely, extremely troubled by this case and always have been from the very beginning. 

'My obligation is not to be concerned with what I want, what I like, what my opinion is. My decision has to be based on facts and law and in the end, I don't think the case can be made,' he said.

Jenkins' family will pursue a civil lawsuit against the doctor, according to WSBTV.

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