WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WFLA) — A 25-year-old woman was arrested over the weekend after deputies said an 86-year-old man died while in her care.
The sheriff’s office said a home health care aide, who was caring for the Winter Haven man, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated manslaughter for his death.
Wrong-way driver strikes Hillsborough deputy nearly head-on on Skyway Bridge: FHP Beatrice Taylor, 25, of Dundee, was arrested Thursday after deputies said she failed to call 911 or provide health care to the patient in her care after he died in his home.
During her arrest, she told officials she did nothing wrong and “didn’t kill that man.” A paramedic said they overheard her tell someone on the phone that “he was old anyway so what does it matter.”
Taylor, who was employed by Assisting Hands Home Health Care for eight months, spent the evening hours caring for the man, who was recently hospitalized and diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
According to the sheriff’s office, her job was to watch him during her 12-hour night shifts and to call 911 if there was an emergency.
On Aug. 15, Taylor began her shift at 9 p.m. and immediately fell asleep on the family’s couch, and woke back up around 1 a.m. after she heard a thump from the man’s bedroom. She saw him lying on his side on the floor, with his head wedged between the bed and nightstand, deputies said.
Hotline now active for residents who need assistance with damage cleanup from Helene Taylor told detectives that when she tried to help him up, he refused, so she left him on the floor, and eventually went back to sleep. She then woke back up sometime between 3:45 a.m. and 4:53 a.m.
According to officials, she had a 36-minute phone call with her parents, during which she checked on the victim in his room, who was now unresponsive. Her parents reportedly told her to call 911.
Detectives said she hung up, called her company, left a message through the portal, then eventually called 911 at 5:37 a.m.
After the incident, the company said Taylor didn’t show back up to work and was later fired. Deputies said she was a licensed home health aide, having passed a state exam and had completed 10 online courses, including Alzheimer’s patient care and basic life support like CPR, using an AED, and giving the Heimlich maneuver.
An autopsy revealed the man had an implanted pacemaker. A device manufacturer was able to find that he was alive at 1 a.m. that night. A Medical Examiner said if Taylor had called 911 at the time she initially found him, he would not have died.
The Medical Examiner said the victim died of positional asphyxia with a contributory cause of preexisting health conditions.
Taylor is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter on an elderly person. She is being held in the Polk County Jail without bond.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Local News
