An employee at an assisted living facility in Michigan has been arrested after an 82-year-old resident under her care walked outside during a blizzard and died last year, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Colleen Kelly O’Connor, 58, of East Lansing, is charged with second-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a four-year felony.
According to a press release, O’Connor watched as the victim twice went outside without proper attire during a blizzard and single-digit temperatures with subzero windchill in the early morning hours of Dec. 23, 2022. The victim was identified by the Lansing State Journal as Lois Kathryn Cary. She lived at Vista Springs Imperial Park at Timber Ridge in Clinton County, which is near Lansing. Prosecutors allege that O’Connor “recklessly failed to act to prevent” Cary from going outside in the hazardous conditions.
“Caregivers have a responsibility under the law to act in the face of grave danger to a vulnerable person in their care,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “I want to thank the Bath Township Police Department for their partnership during the investigation of this tragic case.”
Colleen O’Connor, bottom inset, is accused of allowing 82-year-old Lois Cary, top inset, to walk out of Vista Springs Imperial Park at Timber Ridge assisted living facility during a December 2022 blizzard in Clinton County, Michigan. Cary was later found dead. (O’Connor: Clinton County Sheriff’s Office; Cary: Obituary; Vista Springs: WLNS/YouTube)
Local CBS affiliate WLNS reported at the time that Cary was taking her dog for a walk and officials at the assisted living facility thought she may have become disoriented in the snow.
A snowplow driver found Cary partially covered in snow around 7 a.m. that morning. Paramedics rushed her to the hospital but she died of hypothermia shortly after her arrival, prosecutors said. O’Connor was arraigned on the charges on Monday and given a $5,000 bail.
O’Connor’s attorney Michael Oakes told the State Journal that he and his client will “aggressively” fight the charges.
“She worked for that company for years without incident prior to this lady walking out of this facility, and she continued working there for almost a year after that,” Oakes said. “At no point was she ever listed as being a danger to her patients. She had been caring for individuals for the last 35 years with no complaint ever having been made against her.”
O’Connor has a probable cause hearing scheduled for Nov. 30.
According to her obituary, Cary was born in New York on June 6, 1940. Growing up, she particularly enjoyed the outdoors, boating on the Hudson River and lakes in northern New Jersey. She went to college at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She got married to Alan Cary in 1966, and both were teachers, the obituary said. Cary also was active in church, singing in the choir. Her love of the outdoors continued as an adult.
“Lois had a true love of the outdoors and enjoyed camping and hiking, especially in Colorado with her family,” the obituary said. “She loved spending time with children. She will be remembered for the many wild animals she nurtured back to health and eventually released into the wild.”
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