When Jesse Peterson didn't walk out of a Sacramento-area hospital last year, his family began a desperate search. A year later, they learned that she had been dead in the morgue the entire time.
A California woman who was the subject of a year-long search by her family was found dead and decomposing the entire time in a warehouse morgue at a Northern California hospital, according to a new lawsuit.
Jessie Marie Peterson, 31, died of cardiopulmonary arrest on April 8, 2023 at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, California, unbeknownst to her family, including her mother, Ginger Kangy, until April 12, 2024. A civil complaint received by USA Today.
« She's lying somewhere, decomposing, nobody knows where she is, and we'll never see her again, » Kangy told USA TODAY. « She's lying dismembered somewhere, but if anyone knows where she is, they're not telling us. »
Mercy San Juan Medical Center, the parent company of Dignity Health, discharged Peterson against medical advice on April 8, 2023, according to a complaint filed Aug. 7 in Sacramento Superior Court. In fact, « Jesse died while in Mercy San Juan's care, » the complaint states.
He was admitted to the hospital on April 6, 2023 with diabetes, the document said.
The complaint alleges that Peterson's death certificate was not completed until nearly a year after her death. Because Peterson's family didn't know she was dead, they « tried tirelessly to find (her), » including filing a missing person's report with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the court document continued.
The lawsuit also alleges that this isn't the first time Mercy San Juan has « mistreated a victim. » As word of Peterson's case spread, the family's attorney, Mark Greenberg, told USA TODAY that others called him to say their loved ones had faced a similar fate at Dignity Health hospitals.
« We offer our deepest sympathies to the family at this difficult time. We are unable to comment on pending litigation, » a Dignity Health spokesperson told USA TODAY.
Jessie Marie Peterson's body was found mutilated
The Sacramento County Detective's Office reported Peterson dead on April 12 to Kongi and others at Mercy San Juan Hospital. His body was stored in the medical center's off-site storage morgue.
« At this point, Jesse's body is so decomposed that an open casket funeral is impossible, and Jesse's fingerprints have not even been obtained for any memorial, » the complaint continued. « Mercy San Juan Hospital advertises that, 'We pride ourselves on treating all people with dignity and respect in our care facilities.'' There was no dignity, no respect in this case, » he said.
On the day Peterson died, he called Gongi and told his mother to pick him up because he was leaving the hospital, the complaint states. That would be the last time Kangy heard from her daughter, as the medical center pronounced Peterson dead at 4:27 p.m., two hours after that phone call.
« We now know that she was moved to a storage facility within 24 hours of her death, put in a cupboard in a freezer and forgotten, » Kangy said. « It makes me angry that they threw her away like a piece of furniture. »
Who is Jessie Marie Peterson?
Peterson, who grew up in Sacramento with her sisters Angie and Chandra, is described in the complaint as a « very loving and energetic person. » She was diagnosed with type I diabetes at age 10, which « affected her energy and participation in gymnastics when she was younger. »
« She loved us all, she was the kind of kid who would give you the last Jelly Belly out of her pocket, » Kangy told WXIA-TV.
Peterson was a member of Roseville High School's water polo and dance teams before attending Sierra College in Rocklin, California, before graduating, according to the complaint. He later became attorney for the Placer County Peer Court.
Peterson was admitted to Mercy San Juan Hospital before his death, on January 10, 2023, when he suffered a solitary diabetic episode. He also underwent surgery on January 14, 2023 at the medical center to treat an infection in his right leg.
« A patient who does not survive may be another lifeless body for Mercy San Juan Hospital. Jessie is a family member, daughter and sister, all of whom deserve the respect and dignity Mercy San Juan failed to provide. To this day, the hospital has not apologized to Jessie's family members, » the complaint states.
Peterson's family is seeking $5 million in damages and « five times the jury's actual damages » to « punish » the medical center for « their outrageous and inexcusable negligence and complete disregard for Jesse's dignity. »
