Doctor arrested for ASU student's death

TEMPE, AZ - Prosecutors in California have charged a doctor with second-degree murder for prescribing drugs investigators say ultimately caused a student's death.

Dr. Lisa Tseng is accused of prescribing former ASU senior Joey Rovero high doses of painkillers and anxiety pills even though he didn't need the drugs.

In December 2009, Rovero and some friends drove to the suburban Los Angeles office of Dr. Tseng.

Investigators claim Dr. Tseng prescribed Rovero oxycodone, the muscle relaxant Soma and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.

A week later, Rovero was found dead in his apartment just off the ASU campus in Tempe.

According to the medical examiner, toxicology tests showed the drugs Dr. Tseng prescribed caused Rovero to stop breathing and he died in his sleep.

After a long investigation, Dr. Tseng was arrested for second-degree murder for not only Rovero's death but the deaths of two other patients as well.

Reached by phone at her home in California, Rovero's mother tells ABC15 Dr. Tseng's arrest sends a clear message to doctors that they're not above the law.

"The vast majority of doctors are good and well-intentioned," said April Rovero.

"But there are other doctors out there and if we don't start doing something as serious as locking them up in a cell, how are these guys going to get the message that this is not right?" she said.

An ASU spokesperson says they have undertaken several campaigns since Rovero's death warning of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

Dr. Tseng is being held on a $3,000,000 bond.

If convicted, she could face life in prison.