Murder charge for Riverdale wellness center operator after NAD+ IV death ruled a homicide
The medical examiner found that a 27-year-old Bronx woman who went into cardiac arrest during an NAD+ treatment in July died of a cardiac air embolism. Police then upgraded the charge against the
A Riverdale wellness center operator is now charged with depraved indifference murder in the death of a 27-year-old patient, police said Tuesday. Luis Rojas Cabrera, 55, was giving the woman an NAD+ IV treatment in July when her heart stopped.
Police said the upgraded charge came after the city’s medical examiner ruled in late September that the death of Elizabeth Baron, a Bronx resident, was a homicide. The examiner gave the cause as a cardiac air embolism and listed no underlying conditions.
What happened during the NAD+ treatment
The treatment took place July 19 at Rojas Cabrera’s Bereshit Lifestyle Center. Prosecutors allege that he accidentally put air into Baron’s body while giving it, and she went into cardiac arrest at once. Court papers allege that he then said to a police officer, “I made a very big mistake.” The center promoted natural medicine and therapies and sold wellness products.
Prosecutors spent months waiting for the autopsy findings. Until then, Rojas Cabrera faced one count of reckless endangerment and a second count of practicing a licensed profession without authorization. He pleaded not guilty at his July arraignment. At that hearing, Assistant District Attorney Ethan Reisbaum told the court, “Administering NAD+ via an IV requires a prescription from a medical professional.” Neither count made him eligible for bail, so he has been out of custody since that hearing.
The defendant’s account of the death
Speaking last month, Rojas Cabrera disputed that the injection put the air in Baron’s heart and blamed CPR instead. He said he stopped the IV when her heart stopped and started chest compressions by hand. Paramedics used mechanical CPR after they arrived. He said other doctors told him that prolonged CPR could leave air in the heart’s chambers. He also suggested that health problems she already had might explain her death. The medical examiner’s report lists no such conditions.
NAD+ is a molecule promoted for its supposed anti-aging benefits. It grew more popular after celebrities, among them models Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber, said they used it.
Quick answers
What is the Riverdale wellness center operator charged with?
Depraved indifference murder. Police upgraded the charge after the medical examiner ruled the patient's death a homicide.
What did the medical examiner find?
The examiner found that the patient died of a cardiac air embolism and listed no underlying conditions.
