A woman in a Lemon Grove ditch who was allegedly ignored by a sheriff’s deputy later died from complications caused by chronic alcohol abuse, a damaged liver and an inflamed pancreas, according to an autopsy by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. Irma Perez Espinoza, a 43-year-old wh o appeared to have been living outside, was also suffering from hypothermia when she was finally taken to a hospital, records show. Investigators ultimately ruled her death to be an accident. The case has become part of a broader debate about how best to aid the region’s homeless population. A county supervisor recently invoked Espinoza’s death to justify building dozens of tiny homes for homeless residents in East County, an area that has historically had few shelter options. Yet the case is mainly notable because of the role purportedly played by law enforcement. In July, a Lemon Grove resident named Richard Quinones said he spotted Espinoza in a drainage ditch near his home. Records from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office confirm that a caller did report a woman “sitting in ditch” who “has not had food or water.” But while a deputy did pull up to that area, they quickly drove off without leaving their vehicle, according to Quinones. “She’s a transient,” someone at the sheriff’s office allegedly said when he called back. “There’s gonna be more, get used to it.” First responders only got out of their vehicles days later when Quinones called again to report that the woman was now half-naked, barely responsive and partially submerged in the same ditch. She eventually died at Sharp Grossmont Hospital on Aug. 3. The sheriff’s office opened an “administrative investigation” into the incident and a deputy was placed on “administrative assignment,” a spokesperson previously said. The deputy was not identified. The Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board, an outside body that investigates potential misconduct, launched its own inquiry. Both are ongoing. The medical examiner’s report, which was released to The San Diego Union-Tribune through a public records request, offers new details about the incident. It also raises questions about Espinoza’s final months. The report For one, she may have suffered abuse. Espinoza was last seen by a family member, a son, around four months prior, and he noticed “bruises and hives” on her body, according to the report. Espinoza “reportedly made statements suggesting she had been drugged by an unknown individual,” investigators added. “She was also missing a front tooth, reportedly from being punched, but did not report the incident to law enforcement.” When she was later found in the ditch, she had “multiple contusions and abrasions” on her body, the report said. As a result, a “sexual assault investigation was initiated.” That inquiry is being overseen by the sheriff’s Major Crimes Division, according to an agency spokesperson. The medical examiner’s report additionally suggests that law enforcement may have known about Espinoza’s plight earlier than previously known. The records say the sheriff’s office received an emergency call on July 28 regarding a woman in a storm drain who was “in distress,” but “the female was not found.” That’s a day earlier from when Quinones, the neighbor, said he first called. Call records from the sheriff’s office that were previously shared with the Union-Tribune similarly begin on the 29th. A sheriff’s spokesperson declined to weigh in on the discrepancy, and the medical examiner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Espinoza was pulled out of the ditch on Aug. 1. When she got to the emergency room, her body’s temperature was only about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the autopsy report. (Healthy temperatures typically range between 97 and 99 degrees.) She had a form of pneumonia and her “condition did not improve” after being admitted to the hospital, investigators wrote. Two days later, the “family elected for comfort measures only.” The report said she didn’t appear to have a “history of depression or suicidal ideations” and initial toxicology screenings were negative for drugs or alcohol. On the whole, she seemed “well-nourished,” although investigators repeatedly noted her apparent history of drinking. There is some other evidence for this. In 2022, court records show that Espinoza pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. A spokesperson for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said Espinoza agreed to participate in a “first conviction program” and got five years of probation, among other sentencing terms. Espinoza did enroll in a driving under the influence program in 2023, according to the court records. But after failing to pay a program fee, she was kicked out the following year. A court then issued a warrant for her in late 2024. Espinoza appears to have been homeless at this point, and it’s not clear if she was aware of the missed fee. The response Espinoza’s case has been taken up by two prominent local activists, Ilka Weston and Yusef Miller. After reviewing the autopsy report, Miller said he was troubled by the fact that “environmental exposure” was only listed as a “contributing” cause of death, not the main factor. More attention should be paid to “the sheriff’s department not checking on her the first day they were called,” Miller added. He was also frustrated by the fact that the medical examiner’s office wrote that “it is unknown if there was water” in the ditch where Espinoza was found. Quinones has said he saw Espinoza partially underwater on Aug. 1, the day she was pulled out. Furthermore, photos Quinones took before first responders arrived appear to show a woman in a sweater soaked with muddy water. Espinoza’s family has asked two San Diego attorneys, Julia Yoo and Eugene Iredale, to investigate their mother’s death ahead of a possible lawsuit. Yoo similarly said there was “insufficient information” to pin the death on alcoholism and believed the autopsy report made too much of the fact that Espinoza was homeless. Many details remain unknown as to what led to her homelessness. The medical examiner’s office interviewed Espinoza’s daughter and ex-husband and noted simply that she’d “voluntarily” stopped living with relatives in San Diego several years ago. A GoFundMe account to help Espinoza’s three children pay for her burial had raised $5,790 as of Tuesday. Hundreds of homeless people die annually in San Diego County, according to medical examiner data. Hypothermia remains a threat despite the region’s mild climate, and low temperatures were cited in more death investigations than the heat during the last 10-plus years. Staff writer Caleb Lunetta contributed to this report. ...read more read less