Caregiver pleads guilty in death of 86-year-old left in heat for hours, CO officials say
.jpg "A caretaker pleaded guilty to neglect in the death of a home-care resident left alone in the heat for six hours, Colorado prosecutors said.")
A caretaker pleaded guilty to neglect in the death of an 86-year-old resident who was left alone in the heat for six hours, Colorado prosecutors said.
Letticia Martinez, 28, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 100 hours of community service and three years probation, according to a Dec. 9 news release from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
An investigation found Martinez and two other caregivers, Jamie Johnston, 31, and Jenny Logan, 52, at Cappella Assisted Living and Memory Care in Grand Junction responsible for Hazel Place’s death in June 2021, according to the release.
“This caretaker broke the trust of a vulnerable Coloradan in her care,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in the release. “Caregivers have a moral and legal responsibility to those under their supervision, and my office will continue holding accountable those complicit in such negligence.”
The attorneys for the defendants were not immediately available.
Cappella Assisted Living and Memory Care did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment on Dec. 12.
When charges against the caregivers were announced three months after Place’s death, the facility told KMGH in a statement that it promptly reported the woman’s death to authorities and cooperated in the investigation, McClatchy News previously reported. Two of the caregivers accused in the death were fired, and the third was on investigative leave when the charges were announced.
“We are very saddened by the passing of this beloved resident, and we continue to send our sincerest sympathy to this resident’s family and friends,” the statement said.
Donna Golden, Place’s daughter, said her mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, requiring employees to check on her hourly, KKCO reported. Golden said the assisted living facility told the family she was taken outside around 2 or 2:30 p.m. on June 14, 2021, and was not found until 8:30 p.m.
“She sat out there for 6 hours in over 100 degree temperature,” Golden told the outlet in September 2021. “She died because of neglect. She didn’t need to.”
Johnston and Logan were also charged with neglect in September 2021, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office. Their cases are ongoing, the office said.
