Obituaries

UPDATE: Kiersten Cerveny, Brooklyn Dermatologist Found Dead, Had Drugs in Her System

She was reportedly partying with an HBO producer at the time of her death.

UPDATE, May 25: Cerveny's semi-famous party buddies have reportedly been arrested on drug-related charges.

Authorities are investigating the death of a Long Island dermatologist who was found in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building on Sunday morning, police said.

Find out what's happening in Fort Greene-Clinton Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Police responded to a call of a woman who was unconscious and unresponsive in the the doorway of the 223 West 16th St. building at 8:32 a.m.

The woman, identified as Kiersten Cerveny, 38, of Manhasset, was later pronounced dead at Lenox Health Greenwich Village. She was married with three children.

Find out what's happening in Fort Greene-Clinton Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

An autopsy test revealed that Cerveny had cocaine in her system at the time of her death, according to Newsday.

Although authorities are still determining the exact cause of her death.

Newsday reports there is surveillance footage of two men carrying Cerveny down the stairs.

One of the men she was with that night was identified as Emmy-nominated HBO producer Marc Johnson, 51, the New York Daily News reports. Johnson told investigators that Cerveny “turned blue” and he attempted to give her CPR before calling 911, according to the Daily News.

The doctor reportedly went to Manhattan to meet up with Johnson, a Facebook friend who is also married, the New York Post reports.

Police are now looking for James Holder, 60, who an ex-con who lives in the apartment building Cerveny was inside, according to the Daily News.

No arrests have been made. Neither men are expected to face charges, according to Pix 11.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Cerveny was doing cocaine and drinking alcohol with the two men in the apartment building.

Residents in the building told the Daily News that Cerveny has been “coming and going” for the past year.

Cerveny, formerly Rickenbach, married Dr. K. Andrew Cerveny in Dec. 2009, according to the couple’s New York Times wedding announcement.

Cerveny graduated magna cum laude from Duke and received a medical degree from Tulane, the announcement said.

A reader told Patch that she and her daughter went to see Cerveny as their doctor a few times. She said Cerveny was “sweet and kind to her patients.”

Another reader, a former patient of Cerveny’s in Brooklyn, told Patch: “She was very sweet friendly and caring. I will miss her as a doctor I trusted very much.”

Did you know Cerveny, or do you have any memories you’d like to share? Reach out: simone.wilson@patch.com.

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