Elise C. Nelson Minnesota mother charged w/ killing critically ill daughter, Kylie Larsonthe after intentionally silencing oxygen monitoring device alarm.
A 35 year old central Minnesota woman has been accused of intentionally killing her disabled daughter after allegedly silencing the alarm on an oxygen monitoring device and waiting hours before contacting authorities.
Elise C. Nelson of Stearns County was on Wednesday charged with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree manslaughter, in connection with the June death of her 13-year-old daughter, Kylie Larsonthe, the Star Tribune reports.
According to court documents, Kylie who had significant medical issues and was critically impaired, wore a pulse oximeter, which is a finger clip device that monitored her oxygen levels and pulse rate. If her oxygen level or pulse dropped too low, a warning alarm sounded off.
Kylie’s severe developmental delays were a result of experiencing oxygen loss during childbirth. She required 24-hour care and was unable to walk on her own or take care of herself.
On June 20, while Nelson’s husband was out on a fishing trip and their other children were not home, Nelson allegedly silenced Katie’s pulse oximeter warning alarm two times. Throughout the weekend, according to court documents, Nelson continued to silence the warning alarm, then eventually turned the device completely off.
Oximeter was deemed to have been working correctly
‘With the machine off, nothing monitored the child’s oxygen saturation levels or pulse rates,’ a criminal complaint read.
CBS Minnesota reports that Kylie’s last pulse was detected at 6:43 a.m. on June 22. Nelson then allegedly waited six hours to call 911.
When first responders arrived, they found Kylie unresponsive on the living room floor, with pools of blood building up on the back of her legs. They said she had been dead for ‘quite some time’ before they arrived.
Stearns County Sheriff’s Office investigators sent the machine’s information to Medtronic, a medical device company that created the pulse oximeter. The company said the oximeter was working correctly.
2008 lawsuit $23.2 million award challenged
The Midwestern Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Kylie’s manner of death as a homicide, caused by Nelson intentionally depriving care. She was subsequently arrested.
Nelson appeared in court Wednesday, where her bail was set at $350,000 ahead of an Oct. 8 hearing.
Of note, Kylie’s parents sued in 2008 on their daughter’s behalf alleging medical malpractice by Affiliated Community Medical Centers and Rice Memorial Hospital in connection with Kylie’s difficulties at birth and were awarded $23.2 million by a jury.
However, the defendants filed motions with Kandiyohi District Judge Donald Spilseth in opposition to that amount. The judge ordered both sides to mediation, and a settlement was reached. David Alsop, attorney for the defendants, said Thursday he could not disclose the terms of the settlement, which remains sealed eight years later.
It remained unclear the ongoing costs of Kylie’s treatment and who bore the brunt of medical expenses.
