Not guilty plea in Itasca nursing home death

A certified nurse's assistant pleaded not guilty Monday to charges she failed to provide proper care to an Itasca nursing home resident who died after wandering outside into the cold.

Heidi Leon was arraigned on five felony counts alleging elderly neglect and obstructing justice.

The brief court hearing marked the 24-year-old Bensenville woman's first since her March 4 arrest. She remains in DuPage County jail on a $100,000 bond.

Prosecutor Mary K. Cronin said Leon failed to check in on 89-year-old Sarah Wentworth early Feb. 5 after an alarm alerted staff at The Arbor of Itasca that an outside door had been opened.

Leon is accused of turning off the alarm and returning to watch a television program. The nurse's assistant also is charged with lying to police when they said she told them she saw Wentworth in her bed during a 3 a.m. well-being check.

If convicted, Leon faces either probation or three to seven years in prison. She does not have a prior criminal history.

Wentworth, formerly of Chicago's West Side, was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet because she suffered from dementia and was prone to wandering. Staff found her body several hours later.

Her daughters have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.

Leon was arraigned Monday before DuPage Circuit Judge Peter J. Dockery. He set a May 4 status hearing.