A carer has been arrested and charged with manslaughter following the tragic death of a disabled woman who was neglected for a year prior to her death.
Ann Marie Smith, who had cerebral palsy, died in the Royal Hospital, Adelaide, on April 6 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment.
On Thursday, 69-year-old Rosa Maione was arrested at her Hectorville home and charged with manslaughter.
She is expected to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court later on Thursday.
Maione was employed by provider Integrity Care until May 18, days after a police investigation into Ms Smith’s death was launched.
On Thursday, 69-year-old Rosa Maione was arrested at her Hectorville home and charged with manslaughter
Ann Marie Smith, who had cerebral palsy, died in the Royal Hospital, Adelaide, on April 6 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment
The 54-year-old Ms Smith lived alone in her Adelaide home and relied on carers under the National Disability Insurance Scheme to care for her.
Maione had been employed as Ms Smith’s primary carer for seven years, although she didn’t hold a disability services employment clearance – which is required under South Australian legislation – The Advertiser reported.
She was paid under the National Disability Insurance Scheme to feed, bathe and care for Ms Smith for six hours a day, seven days a week.
Evidence indicates Ms Smith spent the year leading up to her death in her chair, rotting away in horrific living conditions in the living room of her home.
The chair she was sat on, and the carpet underneath, was soaked with urine and faeces. When the carpet was eventually removed, even the concrete slab beneath was stained.
Police allege Maione was Ms Smith’s only regular visitor, but her son and his wife could have also helped with her care despite having no professional experience in the industry, the publication reported.
Maione called an ambulance to Ms Smith’s Kensington Park home on April 5 after she found her in a semi conscious state.
The 54-year-old lived alone in her Adelaide home and relied on carers under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
The 54-year-old was rushed into major surgery, but later given palliative care and died the next day.
After her death, police launched an investigation into her neglect and uncovered a devastating reality for Ms Smith.
She had no food of nutritional value in her home at the time of her death – and some of the food that was in the house had expiry dates dating back to 2014. There also was not a fridge in the home.
She did not have equipment to assist in moving or hoisting her, which would have been necessary for a carer to clean her or change her clothing.
Police allege neither were done frequently.
Her dental hygiene was substantially lacking at the time of her death, and a barely used tube of toothpaste in her dusty bathroom had an expiry date of 2017 on it.
Detectives also believe she hadn’t received any medical care in the years prior to her death.
South Australian police released photos from inside of Ms Smith’s home where she sat in her final days in a public appeal for information on Monday
Major Crime detectives have also started inspecting Ms Smith’s finances to assess how she spent her money, and have found a number of irregularities.
Ms Smith was left an inheritance by her dead parents in 2009.
Police said two loans from small lending companies were taken out in Ms Smith’s name over the past six years, which were supposedly obtained for the purpose of travel and to buy a new car totalling $70,000.
But the funds were not used for either of those purposes.
Major Crime investigating officer, Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Neagle, said it was ‘most unlikely’ Ms Smith would have obtained the loans without assistance from another person due to her physical disability.
‘They were significant loans. We know she did not travel or buy a new car after they were taken out, but the money is now gone,’ he said.
Police believe the amount of money taken from the inheritance is disproportionate to Ms Smith’s lifestyle.
‘It is a large amount, a lot of money. That line of inquiry is in its infancy, but an excessive amount of money seems to have been withdrawn in recent years,’ Senior Sergeant Neagle said.
‘Ann may well have spent some of the money herself, but we are now trying to ascertain how much and if any has been removed unlawfully from her account and where it went.’
There is a possibility that Ms Smith was exploited.
The pictures paint a bleak picture of Ms Smith’s life before she died, confined to a chair in a neglected home with minimal furniture as she rotted in her excrement
Ms Smith plays with a dog. Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Neagle said it was ‘obvious that she’d been neglected’ judging by the state of her and her house when she was found