DA dropping some charges in Emmalyn Nguyen plastic surgery case
A prominent Greenwood Village plastic surgeon, Geoffrey Kim, is scheduled to stand trial next February in the death of Emmalyn Nguyen, 18, who died following a breast augmentation procedure in 2019, but the prosecuting attorney is dropping charges against Kim's co-defendant who has agreed to testify against the surgeon.
The Arapahoe County District Attorney filed a motion this week to dismiss all charges against Rex Meeker, a nurse anesthetist involved in the Nguyen surgery. In their filing, prosecutors said they dismissed the case against Meeker because they "...do not believe they can proceed on either charge as they would be unable to prove one or more elements beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally this defendant (Meeker).. has agreed to testify against.. Dr. Geoffrey Kim."
Nguyen underwent surgery on Aug. 1, 2019, at Dr. Kim's Greenwood Village office. But after being administered anesthesia, Nguyen went into cardiac arrest. Dr. Kim attempted CPR on Nguyen, but later admitted he did not call 911 for help for approximately 5 hours. Nguyen was left brain injured, unable to speak, walk or feed herself and needing around the clock medical care.
Nguyen died 14 months later.
As a result of a wrongful death lawsuit, both Meeker and Kim agreed to pay $1 million each to Nguyen's family in an out-of-court settlement.
Prosecutors later filed criminal cases against both Meeker and Kim. Kim is scheduled to go on trial February 7, 2023 facing charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
After charges were originally filed against Kim and Meeker, Nguyen's family released the following statement:
"We are glad we are finally getting justice for Emmalyn. Even though it will never bring our daughter back, at least this will help others from getting hurt and prevent ruining other families' lives. We still haven't been able to get closure from Emmalyn's death. Hopefully bringing criminal charges will bring out the truth about what happened and will bring justice for Emmalyn."
Statement from Rex Meeker's attorney, Simone Montoya: This was the correct result for Mr. Meeker following a tragic incident and the sad loss of Ms. Nguyen. Mr. Meeker made every effort to save this young woman's life and a lot of the initial information reported about Mr. Meeker's actions in the operating room were not accurate. There was never any evidence to support the filing of criminal charges against him and it appears the DA finally understood that. Mr. Meeker carefully charted the anesthesia medication administered to Ms. Nguyen, which were all within standard limits. He also provided appropriate reversal medications and doses, which were provided in small doses to avoid over stimulation of her heart and BP. Moreover, he did not leave Ms. Nguyen's side during the entirety of incident and repeatedly requested that she be sent out to the hospital. Mr. Meeker was prepared to go to trial, with strong expert support, but we are glad the DA made the right and just decision to dismiss all charges against him. Mr. Meeker's account and recollection of the events from that day have been consistent since the start of the investigation, and he has agreed to provide testimony regarding those recollections if the case against Dr. Kim moves forward.