Nursing home workers arrested in death of WWII veteran

Three nursing home employees who were charged in the death of a World War II veteran in their care four years ago are in custody, a DeKalb County sheriff’s spokeswoman said Saturday.

Loyce Pickquet Agyeman, 63, was arrested at her Snellville, Ga., residence Friday, spokeswoman Cynthia Williams said. Agyeman, a licensed nurse practitioner, was released on $10,000 bond.

Mable Turman, 62, was arrested at a Jonesboro, Ga., residence and was in the DeKalb County Jail.

Wanda Nuckles, 61, of Buford, turned herself in, Williams said. A former licensed nurse practitioner, Nuckles was in the DeKalb jail.

The women were indicted four years after 89-year-old James Dempsey was found dead in his room at the Northeast Atlanta Rehabilitation Center, DeKalb district attorney spokeswoman Yvette Jones said in a statement.

Agyeman, a former licensed nurse, was charged with felony murder and neglect to an elder person, Jones said. Nuckles, also a former licensed nurse, was charged with depriving an elder person of essential services. Turman, a certified nurse assistant, was charged with neglect to an elder person.

All the women face concealing a death charges.

“Video surveillance shows the patient suffering in respiratory distress and repeatedly calling out for help,” Jones said. “Soon after his distress calls, the victim became unresponsive.”

Footage of the incident was made public in November after Dempsey’s family filed a lawsuit against the nursing home, according to Jones. The lawsuit prompted law enforcement to open an investigation.