A Detroit nurse's family is suing a hospital for not protecting her after she was found dead in her car trunk after she was abducted at the end of her shift.
Patrice Wilson, 29, was allegedly kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend Jamere Miller, 36, about 7:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 13 in the parking lot of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Detroit Receiving Hospital. Wilson was found shot and dead in the trunk of her car later in the afternoon, police said.
Now, her family is suing the hospital for not protecting her.
"It's heartbreaking to know that the DMC didn't keep her safe," Rosalind Livingston, Wilson's mother, told Fox 2 Detroit.
On Wilson's would-be 30th birthday, her family gathered to seek $200 million from Tenet Healthcare and DMC for their alleged role in the young-woman's death.
"It's a murder that could have been prevented if DMC did what they should have been doing to protect Patrice and the other nurses down there," attorney Michael Fortner said.
Wilson's family says that the healthcare personnel failed to do their jobs after surveillance video showed Miller suspiciously lurking around the parking lot, as he waited for her to get off her shift as a nurse.
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Fortner says security didn’t step in, and her family says that race played a role in authorities response time.
"We feel had she been one of them white nurses down there, they'd announce it immediately," he said. "Instead they waited three or four hours is my understanding, to tell anybody including the family after they were notified she'd been kidnapped."
DMC released a statement saying that their security team "acted swiftly" and notified police immediately.
"The DMC stands behind our security team, who acted swiftly to notify and engage local law enforcement to apprehend the assailant," the DMC said. "We continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement as they prosecute this individual for the crime committed. We cannot comment on pending litigation."
Wilson was described as a hardworking mom, whose death sent a "shockwave" through the small, tight-knit nursing community in Detroit, Michigan.
"She was a very genuine person, smart and intelligent, kind loving and caring," said Destiny Livingston, her sister. "It's unbelievable she's not here."
Detroit Police Chief James White said Miller was a "violent person."
"He is a violent person. He has a significant criminal history and there is a history of domestic violence associated with that as well," Detroit Police Chief James White said.
