Mother of 2 got 'trapped' inside Dollar Tree freezer, manager told worker on duty 'not to review the surveillance footage' after victim couldn't be found: Lawsuit

A Florida anesthesiologist and parent of 2 wound up dormant "inside a freezer" astatine a Miami Dollar Tree past twelvemonth aft she "became trapped inside," her household says successful caller $50 cardinal lawsuit, which accuses a manager of instructing a idiosyncratic connected work "not to reappraisal the surveillance footage" and failing to instrumentality "reasonable enactment to find oregon assist" the mom.

The Miami Police Department told Law&Crime that Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, 32, was recovered wrong of the Dollar Tree — located astatine 968 SW 8th Street successful Little Havana — connected Dec. 14. A 911 dispatcher was heard connected a constabulary scanner saying, "Complainant recovered a bare pistillate successful the cooler of the store," according to section CBS affiliate WFOR.

"We received a telephone from an employee, who reported that determination was a deceased pistillate wrong of the business, wrong of the freezer," a Miami PD spokesperson told Law&Crime. "No foul play is suspected, but it's inactive an progressive and ongoing investigation."

Officers responded to the Dollar Tree and recovered Sanchez's body successful a freezer located successful a restricted, employee-only country wrong of the discount store. Police said it didn't look that Sanchez was forced into the freezer, but it was unclear however she ended up there. She was allegedly seen by workers walking into the store connected the Saturday nighttime earlier it closed.

Cops said Sanchez didn't bargain thing and was spotted making her mode to a freezer successful the backmost retention room.

"While an invitee connected the premises, Sanchez became trapped wrong a walk-in freezer located wrong the Dollar Tree Store and thereafter sustained fatal injuries," her family's legal complaint says.

"At each times material, Dollar Tree owed Sanchez and different invitees a nondelegable work to workout tenable attraction successful the ownership, operation, inspection, maintenance, and supervision of the Dollar Tree Store, including but not constricted to: maintaining the premises successful a reasonably harmless condition; protecting invitees from foreseeable risks of harm; securing and safely maintaining unsafe instrumentalities, including walk-in freezers; implementing and enforcing tenable information policies and procedures; and taking tenable enactment to find and assistance invitees aft being placed connected announcement that a lawsuit was missing oregon unaccounted for," the ailment alleges.

The store manager, Yanelkis Gonzalez, was "placed connected existent notice" that Sanchez was missing and "had not exited" the Dollar Tree, with him being asked by a lawsuit to "review disposable surveillance footage" to effort and find Sanchez, according to the complaint. But helium allegedly refused.

"Gonzalez affirmatively instructed the Dollar Tree worker not to reappraisal the surveillance footage," the ailment says.

Gonzalez is besides accused of "failing to implement, bid employees on, and enforce tenable closing-time policies and procedures to guarantee that each patrons and invitees, including Sanchez, had exited the Dollar Tree Store anterior to closing," per the complaint. Sanchez's household besides says the freezer successful question was faulty and store workers failed to forestall shoppers from "accessing" it.

"Dollar Tree was negligent and breached its duties of attraction to Sanchez by … failing to install, maintain, and/or instrumentality capable information mechanisms wrong the walk-in freezer, including but not constricted to an interior exigency release, latch, oregon alarm, to forestall entrapment," the ailment concludes.

Dollar Tree absorption could not beryllium reached for remark by Law&Crime connected Sunday.

Originally from Nicaragua, a GoFundMe launched for Sanchez's household describes her arsenic a "devoted" doc and "beloved" parent who "dedicated her beingness to medicine, earning designation arsenic a Anesthesiologist specializing successful congenital bosom illness whose enactment brought anticipation and healing to countless children and families," the statement says.

"Her compassion, skill, and committedness to redeeming young lives defined some her vocation and her character," the GoFundMe adds. "Beyond her profession, she was a loving parent to 2 children, who stay successful Nicaragua and were the halfway of her world. Her strength, warmth, and unwavering emotion for her household volition ever beryllium remembered."