Jury acquits nurse charged in death of patient at Columbus nursing home
A Franklin County jury on Thursday acquitted a nurse of involuntary manslaughter and patient neglect, more than two years after she and six other workers at a Northwest Side nursing home were indicted in a case brought by the Ohio Attorney General’s office.
Jurors deliberated for about four hours over parts of two days before finding Jessica Caldwell, 32, of the Southeast Side, not guilty of all charges.
Caldwell, who was a floor nurse and unit manager at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center, 3710 Olentangy River Road, was accused by the attorney general’s office of causing the death of a middle-aged male patient through patient neglect. The man died on March 5, 2017, of sepsis related to an infection in pressure wounds on his lower back.
She was one of three workers charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case. The other two, Sandra Blazer, 57, of Grove City, and Kimberly Potter, 55, of Delaware, are awaiting trial.
“Our team presented the facts of the case, the jury made their decision and we respect the judicial process,” Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement provided by his office. “Our thoughts today are with the families of those who were expecting the care that we all deserve.”
Caldwell’s attorney, Mark Collins, said his client was “a scapegoat” and wasn’t the patient’s assigned nurse when the wound was discovered in late February 2017.
“In all the situations, my client was the only person who documented or did anything, and they tried to say she should have done more,” he said.
Blazer, who was assistant director of nursing, also is charged with patient neglect, tampering with evidence and forgery. Potter, a nurse practitioner who was contracted to work at the facility, faces additional charges of reckless homicide and patient neglect.
Four other nurses were charged with lesser crimes, with two pleading guilty to misdemeanors and two awaiting trial.
Akosua Ayarkwa, 32, of the Northeast Side, who was a floor nurse, pleaded guilty in July 2019 to misdemeanor tampering with records. A 30-day jail sentence was suspended in exchange for her paying courts costs. Felony charges of patient neglect and forgery were dismissed.
Illuminee Muhongere, 51, of the Northeast Side, a floor nurse, pleaded guilty in July 2019 to misdemeanor attempted tampering with records. She was sentenced to one day in jail and ordered to pay court costs. A felony forgery count was dismissed.
Unresolved are the cases of Sheila Dains, 56, of Logan, charged with two counts of forgery, and Maegan Van Syckle, 42, of Westerville, charged with patient neglect and four counts of forgery.
The indictments, totaling 34 charges, were announced by Yost in February 2019. He said at the time that an investigation determined that one patient died as a direct result of neglect and the other patient, who died later, was found to have suffered physical harm.
Other charges in the case were related to claims that patient medical records at the facility were tampered with and included forged signatures.
A spokesman for the nursing home said at the time of the indictments that four of the employees who were indicted were fired, and two others had been suspended while the legal process proceeded. He added that several employees who weren’t indicted but were involved with the care of the two patients also were fired.