Nearly one month after the homicide of a 95-year-old resident in a Florida nursing home, police have arrested and charged a man with first degree murder. An investigation has been ongoing since the incident occurred, and the assailant was able to flee the facility and avoid being identified and immediately apprehended. During their probe into the incident, police discovered that the alleged assailant at some point had been in a romantic relationship with the victim’s girlfriend and had visited the resident on several occasions.
The “girlfriend,” who holds the healthcare proxy for the deceased resident, reportedly called the facility several hours before the incident, asking that the defendant not be allowed to visit the resident. The girlfriend also told police that she had known the deceased for 14 or 15 years, and they had a full but “open” relationship, including the fact that he had proposed marriage to her, but she had declined. She also said that she had been in a relationship with the accused assailant for about five months, and that the resident was aware of it.
According to the girlfriend, things deteriorated after an emergency incident happened in September 2019, at which time the resident’s physician suggested that he have a feeding tube placed, and she made the decision to do so.
She told police that the day before the assault, the accused had entered her bedroom through a window and woke her up. He stole her keys and her car.
When the police asked the girlfriend why she was concerned about the accused visiting the resident, she said the accused suggested she take the insulin she gave to her diabetic cat and inject it into the resident’s feeding tube to kill him. She told the police that this caused her to have a “gut feeling” that the accused man might be planning to kill the resident, so she called the nursing home to warn them.
The alleged assailant is being held in the county’s jail without bond.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to follow a healthcare proxy’s request to prohibit a specific person from accessing the resident, and failure to maintain security of door entry codes, may be considered neglect, non-compliance with the resident’s right to a safe environment and adequate supervision, and immediate jeopardy, in violation of state and federal laws.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures regarding following requests made by the legally designated representatives of residents and those ensuring that the codes to gain access to the facility are controlled and regularly changed.
- Train staff to observe for unauthorized persons in the facility, to report those persons immediately to their supervisor, and to exercise care to ensure that an unauthorized person cannot obtain the code used to open the doors.
- Periodically audit to determine if codes to the electronically locked doors are regularly changed and that staff ensure when they enter and leave, the doors close behind them so that no unauthorized person can slip in before the door closes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC: WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND RESPONSE
