Audio By Carbonatix
Independent Journalism in Miami Needs You
We need to raise $10,000 by August 9 to support the reporting our community depends on. Reader support keeps us independent and is playing a larger role in funding local journalism and shaping what comes next. If you believe independent local journalism matters, make a contribution today.
Dr. Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson, a radiologist at Jackson Memorial Hospital, met her untimely end last Christmas Eve. After an eight-month investigation, officials have found that she was killed by a neck massager. The doctor was using a ShoulderFlex deep-kneading shiatsu massager that became twisted in her necklace and strangled her to death.
Ferrari-Gergerson, 35, was at her five-bedroom home in Parkland that she shared with her husband, Dr. Kenneth Gergerson; a 2-year-old son, Chase; and two dogs, and was busy wrapping presents on Christmas Eve 2010. She was scheduled to pull a shift at the hospital later that night.
She took a break from the holiday preparation and used the massager. Later that night, her husband found her unconscious. Ferrari-Gergerson was unable to be revived.
After the investigation, which involved buying and testing the particular model, the Broward Sheriff’s Office has ruled that the doctor died after her leather cord necklace became entangled in the massager. It eventually strangled her to death.
“Once something gets wrapped around the knobs, it is difficult to stop the unit, especially when the user is prone and getting a massage,” the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.