Gulf Breeze plastic surgeon Dr. Ben Brown turned himself in to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department Monday morning, nearly seven months after the death of his 33-year-old wife, Hillary Brown, during a plastic surgery procedure.
On Friday, a judge signed an arrest warrant for Ben. He is currently being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail as he awaits his first appearance before a judge and the State Attorney’s Office who will determine a bond.
Brown was charged with second-degree felony homicide, which is manslaughter by culpable negligence.
Ben Brown arrested: Gulf Breeze plastic surgeon Ben Brown arrested, charged with death of wife, Hillary Brown
Months of investigation by the Florida Health Department revealed that Ben reportedly waited to call 911 after Hillary became unresponsive in her husband’s surgical chair on Nov. 21, 2023, where he was performing multiple procedures on her at his office at Restore Plastic Surgery in Gulf Breeze.
According to the investigation, Ben waited 10 to 20 minutes before he called 911 and began to perform CPR on Hillary after she went into cardiac arrest.
A week later, doctors took Hillary off life support while she was in a coma with severe brain swelling from a lack of oxygen in her brain.
Here is what we know about Hillary Brown.
How did Hillary Brown die?
In a social media post from Nov. 24, Brown wrote about his wife’s coma.
In the post, Brown wrote, “We need prayers for a miracle. Hillary had a cardiac arrest on Tuesday afternoon. We called 911 and started CPR. Her heart came back but her brain is not doing well. She has been in a coma since she went unconscious on Tuesday. Hillary Ellington Brown you are my soulmate, my world, my everything. Please come back. Please!”
According to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Brown called 911 from his Restore Plastic Surgery office in the Tiger Point area of Gulf Breeze around 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 21.
The call notes stated there was a female in cardiac arrest: “DR POSS OVER MEDICATED PATIENT.”
“I interviewed the medical technician (name redacted) who advised the patient is Hillary E. Rogers Brown, who is currently Dr. Brown’s spouse,” a deputy wrote. “Hillary Brown was in the process of several surgical procedures when she experienced several seizures and then went into cardiac arrest.”
Ultimately, the state found that Hillary showed signs of lidocaine toxicity while she was undergoing a miniature muscle plication/abdominal scar revision, bilateral arm liposuction, lip injection and ear adjustment procedures.
Florida Department of Health investigation unearths new details about Hillary Brown’s death
The FDOH’s 30-page emergency order provided insight into more details surrounding Hillary Brown’s death. According to the order, Ben waited at least 10 to 20 minutes before beginning CPR, did not have life-saving equipment readily available in his office when her heart stopped, and that he did not follow proper medical protocol when administering sedatives, like lidocaine, which ultimately lead to her death.
The state said Hillary, who is not a licensed medical professional, was allowed to prepare and take her own anesthesia solution prior to the procedures Ben performed on her. The state said Hillary showed signs of lidocaine toxicity during the surgery before she became unresponsive, but Ben continued to administer lidocaine and operate on her.
The health department also described numerous violations of basic standards of medical care that constitute “medical malpractice,” including performing unauthorized procedures on patients like Brazilian butt lifts, not following sterility protocols and performing poor work on patients that led to infections and improper wound care.
Where was Hillary Brown from?
Hillary Ellington Brown was born in Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 2, 1990. Her parents described her as being “full of fire and energy” since she was a girl.
She attended Oxford High School and graduated from North Delta in Batesville, Mississippi, where she pursued a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering at the University of Mississippi, according to her obituary.
Hillary Brown had three kids from a previous marriage
Hillary Brown was a mom to three young children, ages 4 to 8, from a previous marriage. Her parents and friends described her as a loving and devoted mother. After her death, Hillary’s three children went to live with their father.
Hillary and Ben Brown had a ‘volatile’ relationship
Ben and Hillary Brown started dating in 2021, according to his social media, and they married in June 2022. In addition to Hillary’s children, Ben Brown has two sons. Marty Ellington, Hillary’s father, said Hillary and Brown had a “volatile” relationship that sometimes blew hot then cold, but for the most part Hillary enjoyed their life together, especially having her husband regularly perform plastic surgery procedures on her face and body.
“She was gorgeous. We kept telling her, ‘Why are you doing this?’” Ellington said of their conversations.
Hillary’s father and friends said there had been indications Brown was unhappy in her marriage, but that she was reluctant to leave and wanted to make their relationship work.
When she was on life-support in the hospital, he said Ben seemed more concerned about money than her life.
“Apparently his insurance was cancelled on Nov. 30, and he sent me a text to make sure that I was with the plan to send her to hospice either before or after that date,” explained Ellington. “He sent me a text that we need to make sure that her time of death is before the 30th because the insurance benefits go away and my grandkids wouldn’t get some of the life insurance.
“I’m not even worried about money,” Ellington continued. “My daughter’s laying in here, and we keep being hopeful that she’s going to pull through but all he was worried about was the time of death being before the 30th and that he was going to sell everything and file bankruptcy and go buy a new vehicle before his credit tanked. I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t want to hear all this. My daughter’s laying here, that’s all that is on my mind right now. I want people to know this is how he is.”
Ellington said he was also appalled that Ben sold some of his wife’s things on social media so soon after her death, including skiing equipment, which he believes shows his lack of remorse.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Hillary Ellington Brown death: Wife of plastic surgeon Ben Brown
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
