The family of Helen Sanchez has filed a civil lawsuit against a Dollar Tree supermarket in Miami, Florida, and one of its managers, seeking 50 million USD in compensation for wrongful death and negligence. This legal action follows the discovery of Sanchez's naked body in the supermarket's freezer on 14/12, a day after she entered the store.

Helen Sanchez, a 32-year-old anesthesiologist, entered the Dollar Tree supermarket on 13/12. The following morning, around 8h, an employee discovered her naked body in the freezer and immediately called 911. Miami police reviewed surveillance footage, which showed Sanchez entering the supermarket without purchasing anything, then proceeding to an employee-only area and entering the freezer voluntarily. Police found no evidence of forced entry or criminal activity, but how she became trapped inside remains a mystery. A police officer confirmed to the media that mental illness was not a factor in her death.

One theory suggests that after becoming trapped, Sanchez suffered from hypothermia, which can lead to a phenomenon known as paradoxical undressing. This condition causes victims to mistakenly believe they are overheating, prompting them to remove their clothing before death.

Doctor Helen Sanchez was found deceased in the supermarket freezer. *Photo: Facebook*

The lawsuit, filed on 28/1 in Florida's Court of Justice, accuses Dollar Tree and manager Yanelkis Gonzalez of failing to prevent Sanchez from accessing the supermarket's freezer. It also alleges they did not warn her about the "unforeseeable dangers" associated with the area. Furthermore, the complaint states that both defendants failed to "implement appropriate safety mechanisms inside the freezer, including but not limited to an internal emergency release system, latch, or alarm bell, to prevent entrapment."

Manager Gonzalez is specifically accused of not detecting Sanchez in the freezer promptly and failing to provide assistance or call emergency services. According to the complaint, Gonzalez did not review the supermarket's security cameras "after being clearly informed that a customer was missing and unaccounted for." The lawsuit further claims that when a customer asked Gonzalez to review security cameras to find Sanchez, the manager "explicitly instructed Dollar Tree employees not to review surveillance video and took no reasonable action to search for or assist Helen."

The two defendants also face accusations of "failing to train employees and enforce reasonable policies and procedures regarding closing hours to ensure all customers, including Helen, had exited Dollar Tree before closing."

On 2/2, Dollar Tree issued a statement declining to comment on ongoing legal matters but affirmed its full cooperation with authorities.

Meanwhile, Helen's family is fundraising on GoFundMe to collect money to bring her body back to her homeland, Nicaragua, for burial.