Nurse In Jail, Accused Of Killing Plastic Surgery Patient

Police charged a nurse Friday in the death of a woman she was taking care of in 2001.

Authorities said the Homicide Cold Case Unit determined Sally Jordan Hill, 50, of Matthews, is responsible for the death of Sandra Baker Joyner on April 15, 2001.

Joyner went into the Center for Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery on Billingsley Road in Charlotte on April 10 for an outpatient surgical procedure. According to authorities, the mini facelift surgery went well and Joyner was awake and talking when she was put in a recovery room.

Hill, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at the practice, was monitoring Joyner's progress. Officers said after a short time in the recovery Joyner became unresponsive and went into respiratory arrest.

Medical staff at the cosmetic surgery center tried to resuscitate Joyner before she was transported by paramedics to Mercy Hospital Main.

The mother of two died five days later.

Authorities said Hill gave Joyner a fatal dose of Fentanyl. No charges were filed initially, but someone contacted the district attorney's office in January with new information. Prosecutors asked the cold case unit to look into case and those officers obtained probably cause for an arrest through interviews.

Authorities would not comment on the relationship between the woman or speculate on a possible motive, but they did say the women had known each other since they were young girls.

Det. Chuck Henson of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Joyner's family was shocked by news of the arrest. He said they never suspected foul play was involved.

The state nursing board investigated Hill after Joyner's death and found her negligent, but representatives said they were surprised by the charges.

The state medical board also suspended the license of the doctor who performed Joyner's surgery, Dr. Peter Tucker, in 2003 because it said he lacked effective supervision of Hill. His license was reinstated in 2005.

The medical board said despite the arrest, they still believe Tucker didn't adequately supervise his nurse.