Assistant charged in Itasca nursing home death

A DuPage County grand jury handed up a felony indictment Tuesday against an Itasca nursing home assistant accused of being too engrossed in "Dog the Bounty Hunter" to check on an alarm triggered when an elderly resident wandered outside into the cold.

Heidi Leon, 23, of Bensenville, is charged with criminal neglect and obstructing justice. She faces probation or up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Sarah "Sally" Wentworth died early Feb. 5 at The Arbor of Itasca after the 89-year-old woman, who suffered from dementia, wandered outside in her nightgown and bare feet.

DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said Leon failed to investigate the sound of a security door alarm while watching the reality television show. Instead, she is accused of turning off the alarm and returning to watch three back-to-back episodes.

Birkett said the alarm triggered about 1 a.m. Staff found Wentworth more than four hours later. Leon also is accused of lying to her co-workers and police.

"This was not an accident," Birkett said. "Leon failed to perform well-being checks of the residents after the alarm had been triggered, and by doing so she engaged in a pattern of neglect that ultimately caused Sarah Wentworth, the loving mother of three, her life."

Leon, responsible for the care of residents in eight rooms that morning, has worked for The Arbor since March 2008.

Several law enforcement sources told the Daily Herald four nursing staff members, including Leon, were investigated on suspicion they initially lied to police about how Wentworth died. Birkett said the employees fully cooperated with the investigation, including testifying before the grand jury. No other charges are expected.

"Keep in mind these employees were told by (Leon) that she performed the well-being check," Birkett said. "The fact we have not charged a cover-up does not mean there was not some form of deception. No one was going to hide the fact Sarah Wentworth died of exposure."

Rescuers received a 911 call at 5:43 a.m. Feb. 5 from The Arbor staff reporting an unresponsive person. Police said they were told Wentworth died in her bed, but the officers uncovered conflicting employee statements during the videotaped interviews.

Authorities also were suspicious because Wentworth was dressed in a hospital gown, covered in blankets and lying on a gurney hooked up to an oxygen machine with a thermometer lying nearby.

Wentworth was cool to the touch with a body temperature in the 60s. Police still haven't found the flannel nightgown she wore to bed the night before despite an exhaustive search, including at a Mount Prospect waste facility.

The Arbor has confirmed some employees involved with Wentworth's care have been suspended pending the outcome of its internal probe.

Wentworth, formerly of Chicago's West Side, has three daughters. They filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against The Arbor alleging gross neglect. The family attorney, Louis Cairo, said Tuesday Wentworth's daughters are thankful that police and prosecutors took their mother's death so seriously.

"It's not that they're interested in seeing a 23-year-old girl go to jail," Cairo said. "They just want to make sure this never happens again to another family."

A DuPage County judge has signed a warrant for Leon's arrest. She declined to comment when reached by telephone last week.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=274981">Grand jury eyes charges in Itasca nursing home death <span class="date">[02/25/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=273842">Victim family's lawyers tour Itasca nursing home <span class="date">[02/21/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=273548">Suspensions come at Itasca nursing home <span class="date">[02/20/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=273213">Nursing home employees suspended, may faces charges in death <span class="date">[02/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=271140">Family seeks answers in Itasca nursing home death <span class="date">[02/11/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=270785">Police probe death of nursing home resident <span class="date">[02/10/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>