Additional details include the mention of yet another suspected death in 1981 peripherally related to the Clintons...this time, the untimely death of a teenage girl, Susie Deer, linked to the same coroner, Fahmy Malak and Bill's mother, Virginia Kelley:
Dateline NBC and The Los Angeles Times have suggested a motive. They’ve documented Fahmy Malak’s role in clearing Bill Clinton’s mother, the late Virginia Kelley, of wrongdoing in the negligent death of a teenage girl at Ouachita Memorial Hospital in 1981. The Los Angeles Times reported that Dr. Malak’s ruling helped Clinton’s mother avoid scrutiny in the death of patient Susie Deer. The Times quoted the Polaski County coroner as saying there was a lot of speculation that “Malak’s ruling in favor of Clinton’s mother was a factor” in the governor’s decision to retain him as state medical examiner. Then-Governor Clinton said he resented any implications of a connection, and the governor’s office proceeded to shut down further investigation of the train deaths. Dr. Malak was eventually removed as state medical examiner, but was given a job as a $70,000 per year consultant to the Arkansas Department of Health.
Virginia Kelley, now deceased, was a nurse-anesthetist who worked at Ouachita Memorial Hospital in Hot Springs, Ark. in the late ’70s and early ’80s.In 1981, Kelley was named in a lawsuit over the death of Laura Lee Slayton, who died in 1978 while undergoing minor surgery at Ouachita.
Kelley was the anesthetist during the surgery. The surgeon was also sued for failing to properly supervise Kelley. Eventually, Slayton’s family dropped the case against the surgeon, while Kelley settled out of court and paid the family $90,000 in damages.
In June 1981, just two months after the Slayton lawsuit was filed, Kelley became embroiled in a second hospital death. This time it involved a 17-year-old mother. Susie Deer had been riding in the back of a car when someone in the car yelled a racial epithet at Billy Ray Washington, a black man, and his wife who were walking home. In retaliation, Washington picked up a chunk of concrete and threw it through the back window of the car, hitting Deer in the face.
Deer was admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery to repair broken teeth and injuries to her face. Three hours into the operation, Virginia Kelley was asked by her surgeon to transfer an oxygen tube from Deer’s nose to her throat.
According to Leveritt, after Kelley inserted the tube into her throat, vomit began coming up through the tube. The surgeons realized she had put the tube down into Deer’s stomach instead of her lungs. Kelley tried at least twice to correct her mistake, but couldn’t do it. Dr. James Griffin took over for her. By that time Deer had gone into cardiac arrest, and died an hour later.
Interesting.
Never heard this before. Her son was the Gov at this time? Sheesh.