The Munster Med Inn in Indiana, where Beard allegedly battered an elderly woman who died soon after (Google Maps).
A 54-year-old former nurse”s aide in Indiana is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly attacking multiple patients, including a 95-year-old woman who suffered a fatal stroke just days later.
Denise Beard is charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and four counts of battery against a disabled person following a series of alleged incidents at two different care facilities, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.
The investigation centered on the Munster Med Inn, where a registered nurse reported hearing “screaming” coming from a patient room late on the evening of Dec. 14, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
The nurse reportedly entered the room to find Beard pushing 95-year-old Laura Stump in a wheelchair too close to the side of a bed. The maneuver allegedly resulted in skin being torn from the elderly woman’s arm and hand.
Beard had reportedly been moved to that floor earlier in the evening following a dispute with a co-worker. When Stump’s daughter arrived at the facility later that night, her mother claimed Beard had punched her, grabbed her arm, and shook her repeatedly.
The confrontation allegedly involved Beard invoking the elderly woman’s race. According to court documents cited by Chicago CW affiliate WGN, Beard allegedly got in the 95-year-old’s face and stated, “You’re a racist old white b—,” and “You don’t like Blacks or Mexicans.”
Stump reportedly looked at Beard and said, “You hurt me. You called me names and you tore my skin.”
Two days after the encounter, Stump suffered what was described as a “debilitating” stroke, per WGN. She died on Dec. 23.
As investigators looked into the Dec. 14 shift, more alleged victims came forward. A woman who had lived at the facility for 10 years alleged Beard called her a “smelly b—” and punched her in the forehead. Beard then allegedly began slapping the woman’s roommate. During the shift, Beard was reportedly overheard saying, “I don’t know why I do this stupid job.”
An 80-year-old male resident also accused Beard of abuse, claiming she flipped him off and threw a water bottle in his face when he struggled to follow her instructions to lower his bed.
The investigation revealed that Beard had been terminated from the South Shore Health and Rehabilitation Center in Gary just two months prior, per the Tribune. Beard had been suspended two weeks into that job for calling a resident “lazy” and stating that “if he fell from the bed, she wasn’t going to pick his big (expletive) up.”
On Oct. 6, a 95-year-old resident at the South Shore facility was found crying with a welt on her cheek and a swollen lip. The woman accused Beard of repeatedly striking her. When confronted, Beard allegedly denied the claims but became combative.
Shalom Menora, CEO of Sterling Healthcare, told The Times that Beard was immediately suspended and then fired when she refused to cooperate.
“We reported the allegation to the state and started an investigation immediately,” he told the newspaper. “Since it was in a patient room, there are no cameras and since she was the only person there, there was no way to verify anything.”
Beard is currently being held on $40,000 bond with her next court hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
