GRAPHIC: Caregiver accused of choking 93-year-old woman, hitting her with soiled diaper

FLINT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WNEM/Gray News) - A 26-year-old woman has been criminally charged after allegedly assaulting a patient with severe dementia at a Michigan assisted living facility, according to Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

“Our 93-year-old victim who has severe dementia was assaulted by a 26-year-old female from Flint Township,” Swanson said.

The sheriff said the victim was assaulted by Dontia Shawnra Arrington, a caregiver at Landings of Genesee Valley, on April 4.

The alleged assault was caught on a nanny camera placed in the patient’s room by her family members, according to Swanson.

Arrington started to get physical with the victim after she had an accident, Swanson described. She then allegedly beat the victim with a soiled diaper and attempted to choke her.

“You see the vulnerability of the victim and the fact that she’s getting hit with a 2-to-3-pound soiled diaper,” Swanson stated. “But if that isn’t enough, when she brought her hand across her throat in a chokehold, that can kill people, especially a 93-year-old.

Swanson said the state’s Elder Abuse Task Force was contacted. Investigators were able to put together the case based on what they saw in the video.

“I was appalled, I was disgusted and I was very angry,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said about the video. “And I said to Chief Assistant Phillips, ‘We’re going to have to charge this woman as harshly as we can.’”

The video gave the prosecutor’s office probable cause to believe the crime was committed and that Arrington was the abuser, Leyton said.

“This is severe dementia. [The victim] has no idea what’s going on. She can’t process what we process on a regular basis,” Swanson said.

Leyton said Arrington has been charged with vulnerable adult abuse, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, torture with the intent to cause cruel or extreme physical or mental pain and suffering, which carries a sentence of serving up to life in prison, and assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation. That offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison

The victim’s daughter said she and her family noticed bruises in December.

Staff at Landings of Genesee Valley initially told family members the bruises were caused by the victim hitting her arm, but her daughter said they had a gut feeling about what could be happening there. That prompted them to put the camera in her room.

The camera caught various things taking place in the room, according to the victim’s daughter, including stealing, caregivers being too rough with her mother and then the abuse.

“I’m watching and all I kept saying was, ‘My mom,’ you know? ‘Why are you doing this to my mom?’ She’s 93, 5-foot tall, a little 130-pound lady,’” the daughter said. “Horrified. Just horrified.”

The daughter said since her mother has moved to another assisted living facility, she is getting better, but she is still fearful and traumatized from incident.

The sheriff and the victim’s daughter urged families to keep an eye out for their loved ones and speak up if they suspect something is wrong.

“My advice is get a nanny cam,” the daughter said. “Whether they’re in a home, whether they’re in an assisted living, or you have them in your home and someone comes in a couple hours a day to watch them, we have to protect them.”

The prosecutor said as of April 18, the investigation is still ongoing, but no additional charges have been filed against Arrington.

Her bond was set at $45,000 and she is due back in court on April 25 for a probable cause conference.

The assisted living facility said in a statement, “Landings of Genesee Valley is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation regarding last week’s incident. We cannot provide more details at this time as we do not want to interfere with that process. We also need to respect the privacy rights of our residents. We have taken appropriate actions, including personnel decisions and enforcement of our policies, to internally address the situation. The safety and well-being of the residents of our community continues to be our priority. Our staff and management are well-trained and committed to providing the highest quality of care.”

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