'Callously Neglected': Pa. woman dies after suffering neglect from husband, daughter caretakers, AG says
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Parkesburg, Pa. - Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has charged a father-daughter duo in connection with the death of their wife and mother in Parkesburg.
According to the Attorney General's Office, 38-year-old Kaci Nightingale and 76-year-old Richard Nightingale, both of Coatesville, are facing charges for the death of their 71-year-old family member who suffered from dementia, was nonverbal and could not get out of bed on her own.
Authorities say both Nightingales were caregivers for the woman, who was found dead in a home on West Lincoln Highway in July 2021.
When she was found, she was naked, covered by a blanket on a mattress without a bed frame and her body was found in "deplorable condition," the Attorney General's Office said.
The woman was starved and found suffering from numerous untreated bedsores, according to officials.
One of the bedsores was so severe and deep that it exposed bone, the AG's Office says.
Authorities say an autopsy revealed the woman's cause of death was a stroke.
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"The facts of this case are extremely disturbing. For a woman in need of care to be callously neglected by her own family is hard to fathom," Henry said. "This crime is additionally troubling because one of the defendants was paid with public funds to provide the care her mother so desperately needed and deserved, but was ultimately denied. The defendants were responsible for caring for their vulnerable mother and wife, and they continuously ignored that duty."
Officials say Kaci Nightingale was employed as a Personal Care Attendant funded through Medicaid to take care of her mother.
The duo was charged with Neglect of a Care-Dependant Person. Kaci is also facing a Medicaid Fraud charge.
The father-daughter duo turned themselves in on Friday and were arraigned.
The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Section is investigating.