Police have charged a Texas woman with murder after she allegedly punched a pregnant employee in the stomach at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, causing her to lose the baby, NBC News reported April 18.
Cheri Akil, 39, was taken to the hospital April 12 for treatment under the custody of the Tarrant County (Texas) Sheriff's Office. While staff members were attempting to restrain Ms. Akil, she allegedly punched a pregnant staff member who was standing next to her bed, according to the sheriff's office.
The employee immediately received an ultrasound at the hospital's trauma unit, where clinicians determined the unborn child did not have a heartbeat.
Kathy Lowthorp, the defense attorney assigned to Ms. Akil's case, said a homicide charge tied to the death of a fetus is rare under Texas law, but not unprecedented.
Authorities said Ms. Akil is being held in a secure area of John Peter Smith Hospital until she can be transferred to jail, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
"At JPS Health Network, the safety and wellness of our team members is our top priority," a spokesperson for the system told Becker's. "JPS takes workplace violence incidents very seriously and has processes in place to assess and address environmental risks. Due to individual and patient privacy rules, JPS is not in a position to provide any additional information about this incident at this time."