Anaesthetist Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr jailed for 190 years for tampering with IV bags used in surgeries

An anaesthetist has been jailed for 190 years for injecting dangerous drugs into IV bags.

Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr put a nerve blocking agent and other drugs into the bags at Surgicare North Dallas.

An investigation was launched after a medic, Melanie Kaspar, took one of the tainted bags home to treat her dehydration and suddenly died.

A further 10 cardiac emergencies during regular surgeries led officers to suspect Ortiz.

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The surgical centre staff suspected these cases suggested a pattern of intentional adulteration of IV bags.

The emergencies began two days after the doctor was notified of a disciplinary inquiry into an incident during which he allegedly "deviated from the standard of care" during an anaesthesia.

Ortiz, who had a history of disciplinary actions against him, complained to other physicians that the centre was trying to "crucify" him.

He was arrested in September 2022.

During the trial in April 2024, jurors were shown a security video of Ortiz filling syringes with multiple drugs on the day of one of the victim's operations.

A colleague told the court there was no reasonable explanation for the actions seen in the footage.