Confused, alone and beaten by the one woman she trusted.
This is the horrifying moment a cruel nurse slaps a dementia patient in the face with her own rubbish.
But despite the sickening care home assault, nursing assistant Dana Maree Gray, 59, walked free from court on Wednesday despite assaulting her 85-year-old patient.
Dana Maree Gray, 59, (left) walked free from court on Wednesday, despite being sentenced over the shocking assault
Gray was jailed for 17 months with a non-parole period of six month for assaulting the ‘entirely dependent’ woman at The Poplars nursing home in North Epping in August 2017.
But magistrate Robyn Denes let her walk from Burwood Local Court on bail, so Gray can be assessed for her suitability to serve the sentence in home detention.
The confronting and violent assault was captured on a hidden GoPro camera.
Gray had worked in the dementia unit at the home since December 2013 when she walked into the ‘vulnerable’ woman’s bedroom and unleashed the ‘domestic violence’ attack, Ms Denes said.
Footage of the shocking assault, tendered in court, was shot on a GoPro camera hidden by a colleague of Gray’s who feared for the residents’ safety.
It shows Gray staring at the woman, who was using a walking frame, before raising the bed to her chest height.

The elderly dementia patient, 65, can be heard screaming in the footage as she’s slapped twice in the face by Dana Maree Gray. Pictured is a grab from the footage
Gray yells ‘move’ and aggressively pulls off the woman’s glasses and cardigan before slapping her repeatedly and grabbing her hair to drag her head from left to right.
The patient’s bra is tugged off, leaving her topless and hanging her head until a nightgown is shoved over her.
Gray then empties the bathroom bin, ties the rubbish bag into a knot and swings the contents at the woman’s face, hitting her on both cheeks.
She is left alone with her raised bed, unable to sit or lay for a number of hours, according to the agreed facts.
The magistrate condemned Gray’s abuse of her ‘position of trust’ and the way her offending came to light.

Footage of the assault (pictured), tendered in court, was shot on a GoPro camera hidden by a colleague who feared for the residents’ safety
‘She cannot complain, she doesn’t have the ability to protect herself, she is entirely defenceless,’ Ms Denes said.
‘It seemed to me that all your frustration, all your anger was taken out on this lady.
‘Even the act of leaving that bed raised … was heartless.
‘As a coup de grace you hit her with the rubbish bag. The humiliation of that victim was complete.’
She added that anyone with a parent or loved in a nursing home would be deeply concerned by Gray’s behaviour.
‘What happened to [the victim] is everyone’s worst nightmare,’ Ms Denes told the court.
Police prosecutor Wayne Law said the woman’s screams ‘in clear distress’ demonstrated she was in pain.

Gray had worked at The Poplars nursing home in North Epping (pictured) for almost four years when the shocking assault happened in August 2017
‘Just because she suffers from dementia doesn’t mean she cannot feel things,’ he said.
‘She couldn’t do anything … she was exposed while she was assaulted.’
Ms Denes refused in June to hear the matter under the Mental Health Act and Gray has since been deemed ‘unsuitable’ to serve any sentence via community service due to an arm disability.
Gray told a psychologist afterwards the victim was a difficult patient and it was a high pressure job, 9 News reported.

Gray (pictured at a previous court appearance) will find out where she will serve her sentence when she returns to Burwood Local Court in September
Magistrate Denes said while she accepted Gray was depressed and suffered from anxiety, she said Gray had shown ‘very limited real remorse’.
Gray’s lawyer Nicholas Blaker argued for a suspended sentence but this was dismissed by the magistrate as it did not ‘adequately reflect’ the criminality.
Gray refused to comment to the media as she left Burwood Local Court with her lawyer on Wednesday.
She will return to court on September 20.