WORCESTER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Many have heard horror stories about young women becoming victims of sexual assaults after someone slips something into their drinks. FOX Undercover exclusively obtained video of it allegedly happening at a local bar. But Investigative Reporter Mike Beaudet discovered, even overwhelming evidence in cases like this may not guarantee a conviction.
The video shows the suspect allegedly dropping something into the woman's drink, evidence that seems to make the case airtight. But it took more than a month for Worcester police to charge the man, and now the alleged victim and her husband believe the hospital where she ended up that night may be their roadblock to justice.
The Worcester woman, who asked FOX Undercover to protect her identity, has a warning for women everywhere. She wants people to know that the risk is real.
"Don't trust anyone at the bar with your drink. Keep that drink with you at all times," she said.
The ordeal for the mother of three unfolded last October during a night out at a city bar in Worcester with her husband, and someone they considered a friend. The bar's surveillance video shows the woman's husband getting up to go to the bathroom, and she soon follows, asking their friend to watch their drinks. The man then reaches over and allegedly drops something into her drink.
She says she has no idea why he would do something like that and her husband doesn't understand it either, but says he's suspicious because the man offered to drive them both home, an offer the husband turned down.
"I carry her in. I get her up to bed and while I get her in bed. I notice she leans over and she's purple. She's not breathing," the victim's husband said.
When asked if he thought his wife could have died that night if he wasn't there, her husband said, "Absolutely."
"She wasn't breathing. She turned purple. She was not breathing. It literally took a blow to her chest while she was laying down for her to be able to hiccup and throw up. And once she threw up, she kind of caught her breath," said the woman's husband.
The husband then called 911 and his wife was rushed to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. He says he repeatedly made the same request, that his wife be tested because her reaction did not make sense.
"I asked for a test when I called 911," he said. "I asked for a test when I spoke to the paramedics. And I called the hospital three separate times while she was there."
The victim says the night was a complete blur, she only remembers waking up in the hospital. She was released later that day, but never tested for anything. The hospital later wrote to the woman and defended the care she received as "appropriate," saying, "â¦unfortunately the hospital does not have the in-house resources to do all the testing that patients may request."
Fortunately, the bar had the video, which helped Worcester police build their case. In December, they charged Daniel Szklarz with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and attempted poisoning.
Woody Giessman is the founder of Right Turn in Arlington, a recovery program for addicts. He says rohypnol, better known as roofies, is a common date rate drug.
"And it's small and odorless. It can be put into someone's beverage and dissolves very quickly," he said.
When questioned about the case, Szklarz told FOX Undercover's Mike Beaudet, "Call my lawyer."
Szklarz's attorney did not return phone calls.
But the victim and her husband are concerned that without a test proving what was in her system, Szklarz may get away with the crime.
Worcester police would not comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.
UMass Memorial Medical Center also declined to speak about why it allegedly disregarded the repeated requests for the woman to be tested.