DECATUR, Ga. — A Georgia grand jury has indicted two nurses and an aide in the death of an elderly patient.
Former licensed nurse practitioners Loyce Pickquet Agyeman, of Snellville, faces a charge of felony murder and neglect to an elder person and Wanda Nuckles, of Buford, is charged with depriving an elder person of essential services. Certified nurse assistant Mable Turman, of College Park, is charged with neglect to an elder person.
All three also were indicted on one count of concealing the death of another in the indictment returned Tuesday by a DeKalb County grand jury.
The charges stem from the Feb. 27, 2014 death of 89-year-old James Dempsey, a patient at Northeast Atlanta Rehabilitation Center. The indictment alleges the defendants failed to provide timely medical assistance resulting in Dempsey’s death.
The nurses allegedly ignored Dempsey while he struggled for oxygen in his hospital bed. His repeated calls for help were eventually met, but with criticism, not assistance. “You gotta stop putting the light on. What do you want now?” one nurse said.
Dempsey eventually passed away, and his death was anything but peaceful.
His son, Tim, said he witnessed the appalling behavior on a nanny cam he installed in Dempsey’s room. As it turned out, he had reason to feel nervous about leaving his father in their care.
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