A Massachusetts daughter, granddaughter, and nurse are accused of gross negligence in the death of an elderly woman discovered stuck to a mattress infested with cockroaches, bedbugs, and feces.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced in a press release that Eva Fontes Cardoso, 53, Kayla Cardoso, 31, and Lisa Hamilton, 64, have been charged with manslaughter, caregiver neglect of an elder, larceny, and Medicaid fraud in the death of Dinora Cardoso, age 79.
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The victim’s daughter, Eva Cardoso, was hired as Dinora Cardoso’s personal care attendant (PCA). Kayla Cardoso, the victim’s granddaughter and Eva Cardoso’s niece, served as the elder Cardoso’s health care proxy and surrogate for the PCA Program.
The women allegedly billed MassHealth for services that were not provided, including those allegedly provided while Dinora was inpatient and after her death, according to prosecutors.
Furthermore, bank records show that Eva Cardoso frequently distributed a portion of her PCA check to Kayla Cardoso. Eva Cardoso was paid more than $140,000 by MassHealth for her personal care assistant services for Dinora Cardoso.
The case came to light on May 17, 2023, when Eva Cardoso called 911 to report that her mother needed an ambulance. According to first responders, the victim was covered in cockroaches, bedbugs, and feces at a senior housing complex.
According to local Fox affiliate WXFT, the victim became stuck to the skin-encrusted bedding. First responders were unable to separate the woman from the mattress, so authorities were forced to transport her and the mattress to a hospital, where she could be separated from the bed, according to the outlet.
She died two days later at a hospital of necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis caused by infected ulcers, according to officials.
Hamilton, a registered nurse, visited the woman seven days before the 911 call and reported that she was “clean, well cared for, alert, and that her diabetes was well-controlled,” according to prosecutors.
“She made no mention of pressure ulcers, feces, bedbugs, or cockroaches,” according to the witnesses.
According to officials, Hamilton’s report contradicted EMT and hospital records, which clearly showed Dinora Cardoso had completely uncontrolled diabetes and that the level of insect infestation she had experienced would have taken at least several weeks to accumulate.
The defendants are scheduled to appear in court on January 15.
