DENVER, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- A former Colorado surgical technician may plead guilty to charges she injected patients with hepatitis C if a deal can be reached, her attorney says.
The Denver Post reported Kristen Diane Parker's attorney, who was not identified, said Parker has been talking with prosecutors about a deal that would have her serve at least 20 years in prison. Parker, 26, was due in court Friday to make her plea on criminal charges of tampering and illegally obtaining a controlled substance while she was employed at Denver's Rose Medical Center and the Audubon Surgical Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Parker, who has hepatitis C, is accused of injecting herself with syringes filled with the painkiller Fentanyl and replacing the drug with saline. The Post said the used syringes were later used on patients during surgical procedures, ultimately exposing 35 patients to hepatitis C.
If convicted on all of the charges brought against her, Parker could face as much as life in prison.
