A 54-year-old former nurse’s aide is behind bars in Indiana, facing a string of felony charges after a wave of alleged violence against elderly patients left one woman dead and others traumatized.
Denise Beard has been hit with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and four counts of battery against a disabled person following a series of disturbing incidents at two separate care facilities.
The criminal investigation focused heavily on the Munster Med Inn, where a registered nurse reported hearing “screaming” coming from a patient’s room late on Dec. 14. According to court documents obtained by local media, that nurse discovered Beard pushing 95-year-old Laura Stump in a wheelchair so close to a bed that the maneuver tore the skin from the elderly woman’s arm and hand.
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The situation escalated when Stump’s daughter arrived later that night. The 95-year-old victim claimed that Beard had punched her, grabbed her arm, and shaken her repeatedly. Court records indicate the confrontation took a racial turn, with Beard allegedly getting in Stump’s face and calling her a “racist old white b—.” Stump reportedly replied to the aide, “You hurt me. You called me names and you tore my skin.”
Stump suffered a massive stroke just two days later and died on Dec. 23.
As police dug deeper into that December shift, more victims emerged. One resident of ten years claimed Beard called her a “smelly b—” and punched her in the forehead before turning to slap her roommate.
During the same shift, Beard was reportedly overheard saying, “I don’t know why I do this stupid job.” Another victim, an 80-year-old man, alleged Beard threw a water bottle in his face and flipped him off because he struggled to lower his bed as instructed.
The investigation also pulled back the curtain on Beard’s employment history. Just two months prior, she was fired from the South Shore Health and Rehabilitation Center in Gary.
There, she had already been suspended for calling a resident “lazy” and stating that if he fell, she wasn’t going to pick his “big (expletive) up.” On Oct. 6, a different 95-year-old at that facility was found crying with a welt on her cheek and a swollen lip, accusing Beard of striking her.
Shalom Menora, CEO of Sterling Healthcare, confirmed that Beard was fired from the South Shore facility after refusing to cooperate with an internal investigation. Menora noted that because the alleged abuse happened in private rooms without cameras, verification was difficult at the time.
Beard is currently being held on a $40,000 bond. Her next court appearance is set for next Tuesday.
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