A former sheriff\u2019s deputy testified Tuesday that he was surprised that a mental health evaluation of suicidal patient lasted minutes rather than hours.<\/p>\n
In the secon day of the Villelli v. Turpen malpractice suit, former Montezuma County Deputy Miguel Perez testified that a Southwest Memorial Hospital emergency room \u201cM1\u201d mental health evaluation of Ted Villelli on June 9, 2010, lasted 10 to 15 minutes. Montezuma County Sgt. Jason Spruell testified that similar evaluations routinely last at least an hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy exact words?\u201d Perez told plaintiff\u2019s attorney Michael McLachlan on what he told Spruell about Villelli\u2019s exam. \u201cDamn, that was quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Perez, a nurse took Villelli\u2019s vital signs and asked the patient general health questions for three to four minutes. He said emergency room physician Dr. Mark Turpen\u2019s check of the patient lasted about the same amount of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Turpen\u2019s examination lasted approximately five minutes, maybe at the most,\u201d Perez testified.<\/p>\n
Perez stated that after Villelli indicated to the emergency room physician that he was not a danger to himself or others, Turpen discharged the patient.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctor said, he\u2019s fine. Get him out of here,\u201d Perez testified.<\/p>\n
Perez and Spruell testified that a dispatch radio is at the nurse\u2019s station in the Southwest emergency room, and medical officials routinely monitor police chatter. If listening, hospital officials would have heard that deputies were dispatched to Villelli\u2019s home that night about 10 p.m. in response to a suicide call involving a shotgun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not have enough evidence to hold (Villelli) on an M1 hold,\u201d Spruell testified.<\/p>\n
Spruell transported Villelli home on County Road 27 after he was discharged. Spruell said Villelli promised that he wouldn\u2019t hurt himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him to shake my hand and tell me he wasn\u2019t going to hurt yourself,\u201d Spruell said. \u201cHe shook my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spruell added that the incident was the first time a suicidal patient cleared by the hospital for a mental health hold had died by suicide.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Tuesday, the Villelli\u2019s wife, Renee Villelli, was the first witness called to the stand. She discovered her husband\u2019s body about 7 a.m. on June 10, the following day, sitting next to fire pit in their backyard.<\/p>\n
On the witness stand for nearly two-and-a-half hours, Renee Villelli stated that her husband had removed the couple\u2019s photos from the home. She also said her husband had attempted suicide twice, in August and November of 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was sad and looking for help,\u201d she said, crying. \u201cHe just wanted to be done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the last few months of Villelli\u2019s life, Renee Villelli said that she had gone into protective mode, and removed her and the couple\u2019s children from the home. She wanted to safeguard the couple\u2019s teenage son and daughter from her husband\u2019s verbal abuse and threats of physical abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stood up as tall as I could,\u201d she testified. \u201cLife was hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTed was crazy,\u201d she added. \u201cTed was losing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renee Villelli also testified that she demanded that her husband turn over his 12-gauge shotgun on June 9. He refused, and she called for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the deputies, he\u2019s not OK,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t help him anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Villelli children, now 19, and 21, both testified abou happy childhoods on Tuesday, saying that their father was their best friend. The most emotional testimony came from the couple\u2019s son, now married and in the Navy.<\/p>\n
In the last days of his father\u2019s life, the son said he\u2019d become frustrated and angry with his father, because the family had done everything they could to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called my dad an asshole,\u201d he said, wiping tears from his eyes. \u201cThat\u2019s the last words I said to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Presiding over the malpractice suit, Chief District Court Judge Doug Walker ruled on Tuesday that a jury of six plus one alternate would not be privy to a final note left by Villelli.<\/p>\n
Both Turpen and a hospital nurse are scheduled to take the witness stand on Wednesday. The jury is expected to decide by Friday afternoon whether Turpen was negligent in the case.<\/p>\n