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Clara Strange, Thelma Metcalf, Garlin Kelley, Cora Bryant, and Opal Few were dialysis patients who, in April 2008, died under suspicious circumstances at a Lufkin, Texas clinic. Their deaths were attributed to Kimberly Saenz, a licensed vocational nurse working at the facility who injected bleach into their dialysis lines.
This deliberate act resulted in fatal outcomes for five patients and serious medical episodes for others. Saenz was convicted of capital murder in 2012. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Such a case garnered wide media attention because of the seriousness of the crime committed and where it occurred, specifically, a medical facility.
The third episode of Snapped season 35, titled Kimberly Saenz, is scheduled for broadcast on the Oxygen network at 6:00 pm on Sunday, January 19, 2025. According to an official synopsis of the episode:
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Numerous patients at a Texas dialysis treatment center have gone into cardiac arrest, resulting in five deaths in one month. Investigators work with the Centers for Disease Control to expose a chilling connection between the unexplained tragedies.
The fatal incidents in April 2008
According to the details of the Saenz v. State case provided by Casetext, the whole event happened over a couple of weeks in April 2008. From the records at the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, Texas, there were a very unusual number of patient deaths and reactions at the dialysis clinic where Kimberly Saenz worked. These included the following: Clara Strange, Thelma Metcalf, Garlin Kelley, Cora Bryant, and Opal Few.
As per the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, the first victim was Clara Strange, who died on April 1, 2008. She had initially complained of shortness of breath during dialysis but was stabilized with oxygen. When Clara's assigned technician left for a break, Saenz reportedly changed Strange's blood flow rate without justification. Clara later became unresponsive and died the same day.
Another patient named Thelma Metcalf was also treated on the same day as Strange, according to the Fourth Court of Appeals. She, too, lost consciousness during her dialysis. Witnesses testified that Saenz handled her treatment poorly, including carrying out CPR improperly. Metcalf was declared dead at the hospital.
According to the Fourth Court of Appeals, Garlin Kelley went into cardiac arrest during his dialysis treatment on April 16, 2008. Before the incident, witnesses testified that Saenz tampered with Kelley's dialysis machine. Kelley never regained consciousness until his death in August 2008.
Per the Fourth Court of Appeals, corresponding to the date of April 22, 2008, Cora Bryant suffered cardiac distress immediately after receiving her returned blood during dialysis. She died in July 2008.
Another patient named Opal Few was treated on April 26, 2008. She became unresponsive just minutes into her dialysis session. Saenz had not documented the administration of Few's medication, which raised further suspicion. Few died that same day.
Evidence connecting the deaths of Clara Strange and others to Kimberly Saenz
The Fourth Court of Appeals said that there was shocking evidence in the investigation of the dialysis clinic. The forensic reports indicated that the bleach was found in the dialysis lines of most of the deceased patients. Moreover, the victims' blood samples had high levels of 3-chlorotyrosine, a marker for chlorine exposure.
According to the Fourth Court of Appeals, witness testimonies were a major means of tying Saenz to the act. Clinic staff members Linda Hall and Lurlene Hamilton both described seeing Saenz inject bleach solutions into the lines of the dialysis patients. Hall reported noticing that Saenz was visibly on edge while rinsing used needles in the container for sharps.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) played critical roles in the investigation, per the Fourth Court of Appeals. Testing of preserved dialysis equipment confirmed the presence of bleach, supporting the claims of eyewitnesses. Experts from the CDC stated that the victims' symptoms—cardiac arrests and respiratory distress—were consistent with bleach poisoning.
Trial and legal outcomes
The Fourth Court of Appeals held that Kimberly Saenz was tried in 2012 on one count of capital murder and three counts of aggravated assault, one of which involved Clara Strange. Prosecutors presented overwhelming evidence: forensic findings, eyewitness accounts, and inconsistencies in Saenz's explanations.
The Fourth Court of Appeals stated that the defense could have urged that the pre-existing medical conditions of the victims might have been the cause of death. However, the prosecution pointed out that there was no other credible explanation for finding bleach in the victims' circulatory systems as well as dialysis lines.
The jury convicted Saenz of one count of capital murder for the murders of Clara Strange, Thelma Metcalf, Garlin Kelley, Cora Bryant, and Opal Few, according to the Fourth Court of Appeals. Saenz was given a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole. She received additional aggravated assault sentences so that she would spend the rest of her life in prison.
For more details on the case, watch Snapped on Oxygen.
