Overview
- Dr. Chrishelle Hemphill was arrested on Tuesday, July 15, and charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, a Texas second‑degree felony that carries 2 to 20 years in prison if she is convicted.
- The Tarrant County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was meperidine (Demerol) toxicity and reported 793 ng/mL of the drug in the child’s blood, a concentration that investigators said would be high even for an adult.
- Police allege Hemphill gave the 4‑year‑old meperidine along with two other sedatives and nitrous oxide, and a reviewing pediatric dentist told investigators a 10 mg meperidine dose would have been appropriate while records show 30 mg was given.
- The arrest affidavit says staff failed to monitor and treat respiratory distress properly, that flumazenil was used instead of naloxone during resuscitation, and that the office could not locate Narcan when detectives executed a search warrant.
- Investigations and regulatory reviews are ongoing, the practice has not publicly responded, and the case has prompted community mourning and a fundraiser for the child’s family as criminal and professional processes proceed.