Alcohol has been cited as a contributing factor in the strange case of a doctor who was found dead in a Miami Dollar Tree freezer.
A toxicology report from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Dr. Massiell Garay Sanchez “had a blood ethanol level of 0.112%, which would have been above the legal limit to drive, and an ocular fluid ethanol reading of 0.156%,” Local 10 News reported.
The 32-year-old anesthesiologist is believed to have wandered into the freezer and become trapped. She was reportedly found dead by employees the following morning, on December 14. Foul play was ruled out, according to Local 10.
“We’re not sure the state of mind of that woman, we’re not sure if she intentionally went into the freezer on her own will or if it was something completely accidental,” a spokesperson told NBC 6 News.
Alcohol causes the body to lose heat more rapidly and likely increased the rate of hypothermia.
Surveillance video reportedly shows Sanchez alone and entering the employee-only area before the store closed at 10 pm.
NEW DETAILS: Alcohol use contributed to the death of a Nicaraguan doctor whose body was found in a Miami Dollar Tree freezer in December, according to an autopsy report obtained by Local 10 News.https://t.co/spK0FHMOgc
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) February 11, 2026
Sanchez’s family filed an eight-figure lawsuit against Dollar Tree for “failing to take reasonable action to locate or assist” her. The lawsuit claims that the store had a duty to protect its patrons from “foreseeable risks of harm,” and implement and enforce “reasonable safety policies and procedures,” according to Local 10.
A Dollar Tree spokesperson told the Daily Mail that they are fully cooperating with the investigation.
“We are aware of this tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones,’ they wrote.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities at this time.”
An earlier report from WPLG News claimed that the freezer door was not blocked and had an “emergency release” that would have opened it from the inside.
Sanchez, a young mother whose children were in Nicaragua, was reportedly visiting family in Miami before she died.
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