Dana Vega received emergency mental health care hours before killing her grandmother
Dana Vega was admitted to San Juan Bautista Hospital following a suicide attempt on the same day as the crime. Hours later, she stabbed her grandmother Aurora Carrizo, 76, and injured her grandfather.
Emergency admission and voluntary discharge before the crime in the 920 Viviendas neighbourhood
Hours before the crime unfolded in the 920 Viviendas neighbourhood, Dana Vega, 39, received emergency care at the Mental Health service of San Juan Bautista Hospital, according to information reported by elesquiu.com based on official sources. The woman had experienced an episode in which she is believed to have attempted to take her own life.
At the health centre she underwent stomach lavage and received medical assistance until she was stabilised. However, once treated, Vega requested voluntary discharge and left the hospital of her own accord.
According to preliminary reconstruction, after leaving the hospital the woman went to her relatives' home. It was there that, hours later, Aurora Carrizo, 76—her grandmother—suffered stab wounds that caused her death. Her grandfather, Nicolás Emigdio Mercado, 81, was also injured in the attack.
The Prosecutor's Office has charged Vega with aggravated homicide in the case of Carrizo and with aggravated homicide in the degree of attempted homicide for the injuries caused to Mercado. The accused remains detained at the Women's Police Station.
The sequence of events raises questions about what occurred in the hours that passed between the hospital discharge and the attack. Investigators have not established at this time a direct connection between the episode at the health centre and the subsequent crime.
Prosecutor Antonino ordered the seizure of Vega's medical records as part of the judicial investigation. Yesterday, the accused was questioned by the same prosecutor, but chose not to provide a statement.
Source: Google News PR — San Juan