(L.A.) Vanesha Daniel, 27, Died in a Hospital

Case Number: 2025-13567

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 27-year-old Black female that occurred in a hospital.

The coroner’s office identified the woman as Vanesha Daniel.

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death A: Brain Death

Cause of Death B: Acute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Intoxication

RIP VA’NESHA DANIEL (September 7, 1997 – August 25, 2025)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Monday.

The decedent was found unresponsive on a sidewalk on August 24 and then taken to a hospital. At some point after brain death was declared on August 25, her family made the decision to let her go. She leaves behind a two-year-old son.

Meth causes increased release of neurotransmitters leading to intense stimulation, but it also damages the brain by causing neuronal death, disrupting brain structures, and increasing the risk of strokes due to effects on the brain’s circulatory system.

Fentanyl, a potent opioid, primarily causes severe respiratory depression, which reduces oxygen supply (hypoxia) to the brain. This hypoxia can cause brain injury and neuronal damage, contributing to brain dysfunction. Respiratory depression from fentanyl overdose can be rapid and severe enough to cause brain hypoxia and ultimately brain death if not reversed in time.

* The government investigator Mason Chao had initially given her age as 28.