Another Assisted Living Resident Beaten To Death By His Peer
Dispatcher: "Catawba County 911..."
Caller: "Yes... I need an ambulance at the Walden House. One of the residents beat one of the residents in the head. I need one right now ASAP!"
Caller: "We looked out and he was beating this one resident in the head. Blood is everywhere."
Dispatcher: "Okay, Ma'am."
Caller: "Oh my God!"
The above is the transcript from Catawba County 911 Center following the discovery of the graphic beating of 70-year-old Ronald Simmons by employees at an assisted living facility that were folding laundry nearby to where the crime occurred. Simmons was a resident at Walden House Living Center in Hickory, NC. Apparently Simmons was followed outside by 43-year-old Dennis Scherzer, where he repeatedly struck him in the head just feet from the entrance to the facility.
Authorities pronounced Simmons dead at the scene from an obvious head injury. Scherzer was taken into custody and charged with murder.
The most obvious question is: where is the staff supervision in situations like this? Regardless of the type of facility, nursing home or assisted living-- the facilities have a duty to look after their residents. If they can not adequately provide adequate care-- and protection-- they should not accept care of the individual.
Read more about this murder at a North Carolina assisted living center here.
Related Nursing Homes Abuse Blog Entries:
Update On Chicago Nursing Home Murder
Comments (2)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endChuck Bongiovanni - July 19, 2009 7:03 PM
Unbelieveable, this is soooo sad. You never know who caregivers really are. I am speechless.
Chuck Bongiovanni - July 19, 2009 7:05 PM
Didn't realize he was a resident, what are seniors doing with these younger abviously mentally disturbed people?