Two Georgia nurses and an aide have been indicted in the 2014 death of an elderly World War II patient who reportedly begged for help right before their eyes.
Authorities announced Wednesday that former Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation nurse Loyce Pickquet Agyeman was charged with felony murder and neglect to an elder person in connection. WXIA reported that Wanda Nuckles, also an ex-nurse, was charged with depriving an elder person of essential services, while certified nursing assistant Mable Turman is was charged with neglect to an elder person.
The charges stem from the 2014 death of James Dempsey, 89. The incident, caught on tape, apparently shows Dempsey calling out for help at least six times and struggling to breathe.
“Help me! Help me! I can’t breathe!” the distressed elder can be heard saying.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, a taped deposition revealed that Despite this, Dempsey is unresponsive by the time Nuckles and another nurse are seen entering the room to tend to him.
Not only is Nuckles seen giving Dempsey only six chest compressions, but at one point, a nurse is seen fumbling with an oxygen tank before she and two coworkers erupt in laughter.
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“Ma’am, was there something funny that was happening?” Mike Prieto, the family’s attorney, asked Nuckles during the deposition.
“I can’t even remember all that as you can see,” Nuckles responded.
State records indicated that Dempsey was found unresponsive at 5:28 am. However, staff allegedly waited until 6:25 a.m. to call 911.
Inspection reports also revealed that Sava Senior Care, the company that runs the facility, was made aware of the disturbing footage in November 2015, but waited 10 months to fire the nurses involved in the incident. The footage was made available through public records in 2017, after Dempsey’s family filed a lawsuit.
WXIA also reported that all three women were also indicted on one count of concealing the death of another. Warrants have also been issued for their arrests.
[Featured Image: James Dempsey and Wanda Nuckles/WXIA video screenshot]
