Doctor convicted of 2nd degree murder in overdose deaths of three patients

A Los Angeles-area doctor was convicted of second degree murder Friday in a landmark case for killing three patients who overdosed on what a prosecutor called “crazy, outrageous amounts” of painkillers she prescribed. The second-degree murder convictions of Dr Hsiu-Ying Lisa Tseng were the first against a U.S. doctor for recklessly prescribing drugs, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office said. It’s rare to bring homicide charges against a physician, but the case came amid a prescription drug abuse epidemic that has led lawmakers to try to rein in so-called pill mills that dole out medications with little scrutiny.

Writing a prescription to someone knowing that they’re going to abuse it and potentially die was the theory of second-degree murder that we had.

Deputy District Attorney John Niedermann

A dozen of Tseng’s patients died, though prosecutors only brought three murder charges. Tseng, 45, showed no emotion as the convictions were read out loud. Jurors deliberated for 10 days before reaching the verdicts. She was also convicted of illegally writing prescriptions for two of the deceased patients and 16 other people, including two undercover agents who were investigating how easily she prescribed addictive pain pills after brief office visits. She was convicted of killing Vu Nguyen, 29, of Lake Forest, Steven Ogle, 25, of Palm Desert, and Joseph Rovero, 21, an Arizona State University student from San Ramon. The three died of overdoses between March and December 2009.

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