A carer was caught brutally beating a 93-year-old dementia patient with a dirty nappy before attempting to strangle her in horrifying footage released by police.
Dontia Shawnra Arrington, 26, has been charged with allegedly assaulting a vulnerable patient at the Landings of Genesee Valley in Flint, Michigan, on April 4.
The attack was caught on the babysitter’s camera, which was placed in the victim’s room after her daughter noticed “bruises with handprints” on her mother in December.
“I was looking and all I was saying was, ‘My mom,’ you know? ‘Why are you doing this to my mom?’ She’s 93 years old, 5 feet tall and a 130-pound lady,’ she said at a press conference where the video was shown. ‘Just horrified.
Footage shows Arrington repeatedly tearing a full diaper over the victim’s head as she sits helplessly in her wheelchair and raises her arms in defense.
The attack was caught on a babysitter’s camera that was placed in the victim’s room after her daughter noticed “bruises with handprints” on her mother in December.
Dontia Shawnra Arrington, 26, has been charged with allegedly assaulting a vulnerable patient at the Landings of Genesee Valley in Flint, Michigan, on April 4.
The victim’s daughter (center) became emotional when the video was shown at a news conference also attended by Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson (right) and prosecutor David Leyton (left).
He then tries to strangle the woman in the bathroom. Later, the footage cuts to the bedroom, where Arrington slaps the woman across the mouth while she is still wearing her sanitary gloves.
Arrington raises his fists and appears to threaten the patient as she rises above her wheelchair. The old woman is clearly distraught.
The victim’s daughter became emotional when the video was shown at a news conference also attended by Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and prosecutor David Leyton.
She said her family set up the nanny cam to get to the bottom of why her mother had been suffering bruises, and that it took a few tries to detect the abuse.
Cameras also caught staff stealing from his mother, who has been a patient at the center for about five years.
She added that her mother has since been moved to another assisted living facility and is improving, but still feels traumatized by the incident.
Sheriff Swanson said at the news conference that the patient had been diagnosed with “severe dementia.”
‘[The victim] “She has no idea what’s going on,” he said. “She can’t process what we process on a regular basis.”
“You see the vulnerability of the victim and the fact that she was hit with a two to three pound dirty diaper,” he added as the horrific images were shown.
A carer was caught brutally beating a 93-year-old dementia patient with a dirty nappy before attempting to strangle her in horrifying footage released by police.
Footage shows Arrington repeatedly tearing a full diaper over the victim’s head as she sits helplessly in her wheelchair and raises her arms in defense.
The victim had been a patient at Landings of Genesee Valley in Flint, Michigan, for about five years. She has since been moved to another facility after being traumatized by the incident.
“But if that wasn’t enough, when he put his hand to her throat to strangle her, that can kill people, especially a 93-year-old person.”
Prosecutor Leyton said he was “shocked, disgusted and very angry” after seeing what had happened at the nursing home where the elderly should have been protected.
“I told Senior Assistant Phillips, ‘We’re going to have to charge this woman as harshly as we can,'” he said at the news conference.
Leyton said Arrington has been charged with torture with intent to cause cruel or extreme physical or mental pain and suffering, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison.
She is also charged with vulnerable adult abuse, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder or strangulation, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Swanson said Arrington has no violent history and that his only previous brush with the law was for alleged misdemeanor shoplifting.