Caregivers Who Left Elderly Patient Out In The Heat For Six Hours Charged With Homicide

Three caregivers who allegedly left an 86-year-old elderly patient out in the heat for six hours have been charged with homicide.

Jamie Johnston, 30, Jenny Logan, 50, and Letticia Martinez, 27, are all facing negligent death of an at-risk person and criminally negligent homicide raps after 86-year-old Hazel Place, a resident at Cappella Assisted Living and Memory Care facility, was left to die under intense heat on June. 14, Daily News reported.

In addition to these charges, Johnston and Martinez have also been charged with second-degree forgery, a misdemeanor, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a press release on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

“When our loved ones are vulnerable and in need of care, Colorado residents should be able to trust their caregivers implicitly,” Weiser said. “My department is committed to holding accountable those who take advantage of and cause harm to our state’s older residents.”

Place died after the caregivers allegedly left her out in the heat for six hours in reported 102-degree weather that day.

After the patient's death, the facility reportedly launched an internal investigation into the incident and terminated two of the three caregivers who have been charged. Meanwhile, the third caregiver is currently on investigative leave, KCTV reported.

"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 facility said in a statement.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a female caretaker named Briea Askew, 29, has been arrested in North Carolina by officers from the High Point Police department for leaving a 21-year-old female patient with cerebral palsy in a hot car for several hours, Latin Times reported.

On Aug. 10 at around 2:30 p.m, officers received a call from Wake Forest Baptist High Point Hospital regarding a death investigation.

The patient was reportedly rushed to the hospital suffering from an extremely elevated body temperature of over 110 degrees and was pronounced dead a short time later. The High Point Police Department Special Victims Unit launched an extensive investigation into the incident to determine the circumstances that led to the patient's death.

The investigation revealed that the patient was reportedly left in the care of Askew at the time and was marooned unattended inside a parked vehicle for about 5 hours without a running air conditioner.

Askew, who resides in Greensboro, was subsequently taken into custody at the Guilford County Jail on a $200,000 secured bond.