Left inset: Jenifer Cleveland. Right inset: Amber Johnson (KCEN/Freestone County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Texas spa where Jenifer Cleveland was allegedly killed by owner Amber Johnson while receiving "unsafe IV therapy" (KCEN/YouTube).
It took a Texas spa owner minutes to send a woman who came in for "IV therapy" — which she administered "too quickly" and without a license — into sudden cardiac arrest, just one day after the client gave her major props on Facebook, according to local officials.
"The Luxe Medspa By Amber Johnson will definitely make you look and feel beautiful!" wrote victim Jenifer Cleveland on July 9, 2023. The 47-year-old was allegedly murdered by Johnson on July 10.
"The patient received an IV infusion with multiple vitamins and electrolytes in an unsafe manner, leading to sudden cardiac arrest — a known risk when certain medications are given too quickly," the Texas Medical Board wrote in a 2024 order about Cleveland's death.
Court documents obtained by Law&Crime show that Johnson was indicted this week by a grand jury on charges of felony murder, criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter, delivery of a dangerous drug, tampering with or violating physical evidence, and practicing medicine with no license in connection with Cleveland's death.
Johnson is accused of "practicing medicine without a license and causing physical harm to another person or delivery of a dangerous drug."
The Texas Medical Board previously suspended the medical license of Michael Patrick Gallagher, who was acting as the medical director for Luxe Med Spa in Wortham, Texas, where Cleveland died, and outlined what happened in orders obtained by Law&Crime. Johnson allegedly owned and operated the spa.
On the day Cleveland died, Gallagher was "more than 100 miles away from Luxe" and "failed to properly supervise" Johnson, who was described by the medical board as "an unlicensed individual performing intravenous (IV) treatments, including administering prescription pharmaceutical solutions, resulting in complications that the Luxe staff were not trained or prepared to manage, resulting in [Cleveland's] death."
According to the board, Johnson and the staff at Luxe "were performing treatments that required medical licensure," yet there were no medically licensed or experienced personnel employed or physically present in the facility when "IV therapy was being administered, putting patients at risk," per the suspension orders.
"On July 10, 2023, [Cleveland] received an IV infusion containing: Vit. B complex, ascorbic acid, cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), and TPN electrolytes," according to the board. "TPN electrolyte solution requires a prescription and is known to cause complications due to the potassium chloride in it."
The board said that shortly after Johnson started the IV on Cleveland, she was found unresponsive, leading Luxe's staff to start CPR and call 911. Cleveland was transported by paramedics to Parkview Regional Hospital in Mexia, Texas.
"Upon arrival at the hospital at 12:17 p.m. … resuscitation efforts continued, and a diagnosis of unspecified cardiac arrest was made," the medical board said. "The Patient was pronounced dead at 12:24 p.m."
Court documents say Johnson's "criminal negligence" caused Cleveland's death after she administered "TPN Electrolytes" and other "dangerous" drugs without having a license. The Texas medical board said Cleveland went into sudden cardiac arrest "due to the improper administration" of the drugs during the "unsafe IV therapy."
"TPN electrolyte solution requires a prescription and is known to cause complications due to the potassium chloride in it," the board said.
"Luxe did not have any protocols, policies or procedures pertaining to the administration of IV therapy," the state officials concluded. "The only 'protocols' Luxe had were not directed at Luxe's personnel regarding the administration of IV therapy. Rather, these 'protocols' were merely used to vaguely inform Luxe's patients of the IV therapy process."
Johnson's attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday. She is currently out on a $69,000 bond. The Texas Attorney General's Office is handling her prosecution.