Ventura County – There is little debate about the esteem in which we generally hold end-of-life caregivers. Those who provide comfort and succor to our loved ones transitioning from this life appear to truly answer a “calling”.
Whether or not Sandra Rothweiler, a 48-year-old Oxnard resident and professional Hospice nurse now facing charges of possession for sale of prescription medications, was acting in pursuit of her calling following the 2014 death of a patient in her care will undoubtedly be a question to be answered in a court of law.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Victor Fazio, things began to go awry for Rothweiler on July 31st when officers summoned to the home of 61-year-old Della Gleeson discovered her dead “from a possible prescription drug overdose.” Upon preliminary investigation, it was “determined a possible source of supply of prescription medication to Gleeson” was Rothweiler, who become personal friends with Gleeson after she had provided Hospice care for Gleeson’s mother in 2014.
At that point, the Ventura County interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit entered the case and quickly discovered “additional evidence” indicating Rothweiler’s habit of “hoarding medication acquired when a patient under her care died.” With that evidence at hand, a search warrant served on August 14th upon Rothweiler’s residence revealed “a significant amount” of OxyContin, Alprazolam, Morphine, and Methlyphenidate.
Pursuant to the evidence discovered on the warrant, Rothweiler was taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail where she was charged with possession for sale of prescription medications and remains subject to “potential separate charges such as manslaughter or drug dealing resulting in death” upon the findings of an autopsy upon the body of Della Gleeson.
