HARRISBURG– Attorney General Michelle Henry announced charges against Kaci Nightingale and Richard Nightingale for the felony neglect of a care-dependent person regarding the death of a 71-year-old woman in Parkesburg.
The decedent’s daughter and husband — Kaci Nightingale and Richard Nightingale — were caregivers for the woman, who was found dead in a West Lincoln Highway home in July 2021. The woman was emaciated and suffered from numerous severe and untreated bedsores. An autopsy determined that the victim died of a stroke.
Kaci Nightingale, 38, of Coatesville, is charged with Neglect of a Care-Dependent Person, Medicaid Fraud, and related offenses.
Richard Nightingale, 76, of Coatesville, is charged with Neglect of a Care-Dependent Person.
Both defendants turned themselves in on July 7 at a magisterial district court. They were arraigned and bail was set for each at $150,000 unsecured.
“The facts of this case are extremely disturbing. For a woman in need of care to be callously neglected by her own family is hard to fathom,” Attorney General Henry said. “This crime is additionally troubling because one of the defendants was paid with public funds to provide the care her mother so desperately needed and deserved, but was ultimately denied. The defendants were responsible for caring for their vulnerable mother and wife, and they continuously ignored that duty.”
Both Nightingales lived with the victim at the time of the offenses. Kaci was employed as a Personal Care Attendant (PCA) funded through Medicaid to take care of her ailing mother who suffered from dementia, was non-verbal, and could not get out of bed on her own. Richard told investigators he was a primary caregiver.
The victim was found dead in her home on July 20, 2021. She was nude, covered by a blanket on a mattress without a bed frame, and her body was in deplorable condition. An autopsy found numerous severe bedsores, which occur when a bedbound patient is not repositioned regularly. One of the bedsores was so severe and deep that it exposed bone. There were no signs that the bedsores received medical attention.
The investigation is being conducted by the Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Section.
All charges are accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Pennsylvania Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $9,781,180 for the Federal fiscal year (FY) 2023. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $3,260,392 for FY 2023, is funded by Pennsylvania.
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