SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Under an order from a federal judge, San Diego County released videos taken inside Las Colinas Jail in Santee of the final hours of Elisa Serna's life.
CBS 8 along with the San Diego Union-Tribune petitioned the court for release of the video as well as internal investigations and documents. On April 12, U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns granted that request.
While portions of the videos leading up to 24-year-old Serna's death were played during a criminal trial earlier this year for a doctor and nurse charged with involuntary manslaughter in Serna's death, however, all footage, as well as internal documents, remained under seal.
The death of Elisa Serna
In the months leading up to her death, Serna was no stranger to Las Colinas. The 24-year-old had been arrested seven times and on each occasion, her alcohol abuse and drug abuse, and potential for withdrawals, had been noted.
On November 5, 2019, police arrested Serna and another woman for attempting to steal 54 bottles of liquor from a Santee convenience store.
Upon booking, Serna, according to the recently released documents, notified jail staff that she had a history of "significant alcohol and heroin use as well as frequent use and heavy use of Xanax."
Serna also notified deputies that she was five weeks pregnant.
During intake, Serna described what an expert later deemed to be "significant withdrawal from alcohol." Over the next three days, Serna's symptoms worsened.
Serna repeatedly vomited in her cell.
According to the Sheriff's Department's internal investigation, deputies and medical staff believed that Serna was forcing herself to get sick in hopes of getting out of the cell.
Serna's fellow inmates, however, sensed something much more severe.
The inmates who cleaned Serna's vomit in the cell described it as "black and gooey" and that "it smelled really bad, like a dead person."
Despite the reports, jail medical staff prescribed only medicine for nausea and prenatal vitamins, nothing for her withdrawals.
Late into the night on November 10, four days after her arrest, jail doctors moved her to medical observation. Yet, according to the investigation, nothing was done medically to address the need to medically detox.
That night of November 10 and into November 11, the video shows Serna's condition worsening. In the video, Serna is restless, and then oftentimes appears comatose. In other instances, Serna is seen vomiting.
At 7:13 pm jail nurse Danalee Pascua enters the cell and after Serna pulls away, leaves without taking any vitals.
Within an hour, Serna was dead.
Following her death court documents released after CBS 8's lawsuit show that some jail medical staff had raised red flags about the medical care inside of Las Colinas at the time of Serna's death.
One jail doctor wrote that fellow jail doctor Carol Gilmore often accused inmates of feigning illness to get out of their cells.
"This was not the first time I got sign-outs from Dr. Gilmore regarding I/Ps presented by her as ‘secondary gain seekers’ and also ‘fakers’. I have complained about this particular attitude of my college and her abusive language regarding I/Ps (‘fu*#$ing bitch, liar, faker, piece of sh*#, to name just a few) several times in the past already," reads the email from the investigation.
The fight for the footage
In 2020, Serna's mother and family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against San Diego County, then-Sheriff Bill Gore, and various jail staff members.
Attorneys representing San Diego County petitioned the judge to keep the video as well as other documents under seal for various reasons, including that releasing the videos could compromise jail security.
"Anyone viewing this footage could determine what parts of this area of the jail are under surveillance and find dead spots to avoid coverage of the cameras," the defendants' lawyers wrote in one of their briefs urging Burns to keep the materials private.
In addition, much of the evidence remained confidential as nurse Pascua and jail doctor, Friederike Von Lintig, were tried criminally in Serna's death.
Their trial concluded in February, with Pascua acquitted and Von Lintig's case dismissed after jurors voted 9-3 in favor of acquitting her.
Following the criminal case, CBS 8 and the San Diego Union-Tribune's petition was heard by U.S. District Judge Burns.
April 12 hearing
During an April 12 hearing, Burns said he was not persuaded by the County's argument to keep the videos and the investigation under wraps, specifically the San Diego County attorney's statements that releasing the videos could let other inmates know areas where cameras are not able to reach. "The county's on notice now that there's dead spots. If they think it's a security concern, get an electrician in there and put another camera up."
Attorneys for the defense also argued the videos do not accurately depict what jail staff personally observed on the date of Serna's death. "Thus, that particular footage does not further any public interest in understanding the treatment/care provided to the decedent in jail," their brief states.
Eugene Iredale, an attorney representing the Serna family, told Burns the public interest in what occurred outweighed the county's concerns.
"We believe that the public should see what happens in a public institution and how the public money is spent and how public officials act," Iredale said.
Burns said he did consider how public dissemination of the footage could potentially taint a jury pool for the eventual civil trial, but said he was confident that the attorneys would be able to exclude affected jury members from making the panel.
Iredale said after the hearing that Burns "ruled exactly in accordance with the law" and called the requests to keep the material sealed "indicative of another attempt by the county to bury the truth along with the body."
Serna's mother, Paloma Serna, said in a statement she was pleased with the judge's decision.
"The public has the right to know what truly happened to her in those five days in the (medical observation unit), in Las Colinas. This is a big victory because this has opened doors for other families to know what happened to their loved ones and have those responsible for their deaths be held accountable," she said.
At the request of Serna's mother, Paloma, CBS 8 published the video of Elisa Serna's final hours here. Warning: The content is graphic and is not suitable for certain audiences.
The Sheriff's response
Following the release of the video, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez released the following statement:
"On April 5, 2024, the Federal District Court ordered the release of evidence in the case involving the death of Elisa Serna which occurred at the Las Colinas Detention Facility in November 2019. The video and other evidence in this case is disturbing and the actions of some staff on that day do not reflect the values of the Sheriff’s Department. Since becoming Sheriff last year, I have made substantial changes improving the conditions in our county's jails. Those changes are ongoing, and I am committed to seeing them through.
On February 3, 2022, the California State Auditor made recommendations focused on the health care needs of individuals in the jail. Since then, our department has ensured medical and mental health screenings are conducted for everyone during the intake process. We obtain a consensual urine sample at intake to test for drugs so we can begin withdrawal protocols immediately.
To support individuals who are in custody and suffering from substance use disorder, we have increased the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program in our jails and now have over 600 individuals who are involved in the program. Other significant improvements have been made, and many of those improvements can be found at the following links:
I expect Sheriff's employees and our contractors to provide high quality care to all individuals in our jails and will hold accountable those who fail to meet the high standards of our core values, our policies, and the expectations of the public we serve."