Family of woman found dead in Little Havana Dollar Tree sues for $50 million

Milena Malaver, Miami Herald on Jan 30, 2026

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MIAMI — The family of a Nicaraguan doctor who was found dead inside a walk-in freezer at a Little Havana Dollar Tree is suing the corporation and the store’s manager for $50 million, alleging negligence and unsafe conditions.

According to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez’s estate, her body was discovered on Dec. 14, 2025, by a Dollar Tree employee. Sanchez, 32, had entered the store the previous day. Her estate includes her father, husband and two children.

“Sanchez became trapped inside a walk-in freezer located within the Dollar Tree Store and thereafter sustained fatal injuries,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges the store breached its duty of care by allowing Sanchez to enter the freezer without warning her of potential dangers and by failing to install basic safety mechanisms. These included an internal emergency release, latch or alarm to prevent entrapment. It also claims the store failed to properly monitor surveillance footage and did not ensure employees were trained to confirm that all customers had exited the store before closing.

Sanchez was visiting Miami to see family. According to her Facebook page, she was an anesthesiologist specializing in congenital heart disease at Manuel de Jesús Rivera Children’s Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua, and also worked at Dr. Mauricio Abdalah Hospital in Chinandega.

The lawsuit names the store’s manager, Yanelkis Gonzalez, as a central defendant. It alleges that another customer informed Gonzalez that Sanchez was missing and asked her to review surveillance footage, but Gonzalez refused.

Police were called to the store on the morning of Dec. 14 and launched an investigation. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play and that Sanchez entered the freezer “of her own free will,” a spokesperson for the Miami Police Department previously told the Miami Herald.

Sanchez’s autopsy report, including the official cause and manner of death, has not yet been publicly released.

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—Miami Herald Staff Writer David Goodhue contributed to this report.