From THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS Grand Rapids, Michigan Saturday, December 12, 2009 Page A6—“Daily Briefing”
Elderly Woman Charged
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – A 98-year-old woman was indicted Friday on a second-degree murder charge that alleges she strangled her 100-year-old nursing home roommate in September after making the victim’s life “a living hell” because she thought the woman was “taking over the room.” Laura Lundquist was sent to a state hospital for a competency evaluation before her arraignment. Her Defense attorney, Carl Levin, said she has a “long-standing diagnosis of dementia, as well as issues of cognitive impairment.” She is believed to be the oldest murder defendant in state history.
The link to the entire article is on my home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - under the Breaking News Section. I urge everyone to read the whole article and post comments here.
Years ago DH and I were getting flu shots & the nurse began to cry. "He has AD, doesn't he?" she asked me. I told her 'yes.' "I'm sorry to cry, but my mother had AD and her roommate in the nursing home killed her just a few weeks ago."
If Carl Levin is her attorney( I've met and spoken with him, as well as worked under him) she has nothing to worry about. Hi is a good man and has the expertise and contacts to get her off because alzheimers can be considered legally insane, and with her noted history availible it should only a formality to get the charge set aside one way or another. Maybe med adjustment and relocation to another facility. Levin is a good man. Have faith. The insanity defense should come into play. Good Luck.
A heartbreaking case for all parties involved. I think the sensationalism comes form the ages of the women involved. Those of us dealing with dementia as full time caregivers have a much keener insight into this situation. Just by reading this website, we see ourselves dealing on a daily basis with our LO's patterns of calmness, rage, confusion, manipulation, etc. with transitions happening regularly. We refer to bad ALZ days and relatively calm ALZ days. We regularly struggle with proper medications, dosages, therapies and suggestions for behavioral techniques to sooth and calm. The average person reading about this NH strangling has no idea about the vagaries of dementia. A truly shocking story for the folks who are not reading behind the headlines, for those who do not have the ALZ experience to help interpret this situation. This is a cautionary tale for NH providers who I am sure are following this story carefully. This is a sad and depressing story for those of us with LO's in the grip of ALZ and especially for those of us who have LO's in care facilities. Prayers go out to everyone involved in this sad situation and to those of us who will be reading about it and interpreting it through our personal ALZ experiences.
I only know that my grandfather decided (for unknown reasons) that another fellow in his nursing home was an enemy and any time they were near enough to each other, my grandfather would hit him. The staff had to adjust the routines for each. It is certainly a scary proposition. We'd hate to think the roommate of our spouses could possibly do something like that.. Likewise, we'd be horrified to think our spouses would take that kind of action.. But the sheer unpredictability of this disease is something we get blindsided by over and over. It seems to me that if there was one shred of suspicion that this one lady was agitated or angry about her roommate, something might have been done to move one or the other. I didn't read the article so maybe I'm blabbering without the whole story.
This happened, as they say, "in our viewing area", so there's been a lot about it in the local news. Apparently the n.h. did not view the complaints against the demented one as serious. The one who was killed was apparently with it, beloved by family, etc.. This happened some months ago and I'm not sure it's been handled well up to now; they've been dragging the "murderer" all over the place.
how sad. you'd think that our loved ones would have enough supervision to ensure something like this doesnt happen. i know i would expect it for the thousands they get paid monthly for care. i dont think this lady just finally broke and killed this one, behaviour can be seen prior to these episodes and was probably festering at best. the nursing home will probably have lots of legal woes. exactly that fact that dementia patients are unpredictable and can be dangerous -its one of the reasons that weighed against my DH going to daycare in earlier stages. he was a champion boxer in college and when provoked could easily strike out. you just never know. divvi
I've probably posted this before, my husband's father died as a result of an attack by another patient in the facility in which he was living. So the family not only had to endure the ravages of EOAD, but this incredibly sad ending. I wonder if any facilities have been sued for negligence by families of people killed or injured by other patients?
My initial reaction to the abreviated version I posted above went in several directions. After rading the more complete version Joan linked us to, those reactions remain. On woman had a strong desire to stay in that room as she had shared it with her husband before he passed away--in essence it was her home. The other woman was moved in as a new roommate. There was on going difficulties between the women---one making the other's "life a living hell." So there was on going, escalating difficulties between these ladies, before the killing. Here are my questions-- Why was this situation allowed to go on? Staff knew and did nothing to address it. Where were the caregivers for these women? Both were being negatively affected. Who was monitoring their care, to address such things (something we've talked about on AS--after placement we no longer do the dailywork, but can concentrate on them and advocate for their care in the NH)? And now the legal system is pursuing the case. If any legal action actual takes place I think independent representatives should be named for both women and should file suit together on their behalf against the Nursing Home, Dr. and Staff; against the Caregivers , and against those Law Enforcement Offices and Agencies which have bounced Linda out of her NH enviroment to determine her competency for trial, knowing she has had dementia and cognitive issues for years. Kinda makes you wonder who's impaired? In the meantime both women and their families have been and are suffering because of what happened.
I strongly feel the facility shoud be held responsible by both families. These women obviously had a history. They should have been seperated, no matter how much trouble it was for the nursing home. We need to know our loved ones are safe from abuse no matter who the source. Just this past Thurs. evening I got a call from a very upset nurse telling me a resident had hit John in the shoulder and kicked another residents wheelchair. She assured me John was okay and didn't seem to understand what had happened. The offending resident was taken to their room with an aide assigned to spend the night. By 11am Fri. that person was no longer at the facility. It took me two days and the process of elimination to figure out who it was. It was the first person who came to my mind when I got the call. I have compassion.I understand it's the disease, but when someone is violent they cannot be with the other residents. Our facility handled the situation quickly and professionally. I cannot understand the nh allowing that situation to go on until it ended in tragedy for those women and their families. John is very sweet and docile yet he's had his room and his dinningroom seat changed because of aggressive behavoir by other residents. Perhaps those women had no one to advocate for them. So so sad. cs
At one point I dialed 911. It was my husband's only violent episode. I got a call from the officer who had come to the house 2 weeks later. And a week after that from the Assistant District Attorney.
She, the ADA, got it by the way. As we talked I said that she couldn't have taken this to court because my husband has dementia and wouldn't be competent at a trial, and she agreed.
I heard about this case on the news this week. It is obvious that someone must be trying to push this into the court system, although I have no idea who.
Lori--From what I've heard, the facility can (and will) send someone who is acting out to the hospital, where they go to the ER and then a psych ward (possibly geriatric). They can stay in the hospital for up to a month or two, various meds are tried and tweaked, with the goal of stabilizing the patient. The original facility may or may not accept the person back after the hospital stay is over. I know there have been discussions on this on other threads.