Laura Avila died on Saturday after a scheduled nose job in Mexico went terribly wrong. Now her fiancé is accusing the Mexican doctors of murder.
Enrique Cruz, Avila’s fiancé, told CBS News that the medical facility in Juarez, Mexico, was shut down after he and Avila’s family hired attorneys. They’re hoping to see the doctors charged with negligence and murder, he said.
Laura’s sister, Angie Avila, previously wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to cover Avila’s medical expenses that the family had hired lawyers in Juarez to help get her medical records. Angie said she worried the records would be altered, so the family was “trying to move quickly on the legal end.”
Avila went in for a routine nose job on Oct. 30 but never woke up because of complications from the anesthesia. She reportedly suffered brain damage when the anesthesia, which was injected into her spine, reached her brain. Angie wrote on the GoFundMe page that the 36-year-old was placed into a medically induced coma following cardiac arrest.
Avila’s family moved her across the border to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, but Angie informed friends and family that her sister had died on Saturday. She called Laura her “angelic sister/second mom/best friend & Heartbeat” in a Facebook post.
Avila’s fiancé traveled from Dallas to Mexico with her last month and plans to spread her ashes in the ocean of Tulum, where the couple planned to get married, he told CBS.
“I’m kind of numb right now with everything that is going on and trying to be strong for the family,” Cruz said.
The family’s attorney urged others to think about Avila before traveling to Mexico to save money on medical procedures.
“So that her death is not in vain, people should think of Laura before they look for cross-border discount surgery,” Larry Friedman said in a statement to WFAA. “They should do their homework and investigate the experience, training and track record of anyone BEFORE they sign up. Always LOOK before you leap!”