Second suit filed in 'Angel of Death' case
A second family of a person who died under mysterious circumstances at a McHenry County nursing home is suing the facility and some of its former staff, claiming the death was the result of an intentional drug overdose.
The suit, filed by the estate of John Sherman, alleges a nurse at the former Woodstock Residence gave the 54-year-old liver cancer patient an "unnecessary" dose of morphine Sept. 17, 2006, that caused his death one day later.
"When you look at the records, when he arrived there he was in no pain and in very good spirits," said Donald Brewer, one of the estate's attorneys. "From that point (of the morphine dosage) on, he was in very significant pain until his death."
The suit, which seeks more than $50,000 for Sherman's mother and seven siblings, names among the defendants the Woodstock nursing home's former owners, former nurse Marty Himebaugh and former nursing supervisor Penny Whitlock.
It comes about two weeks after the family of Virginia Cole sued the home, Himebaugh and Whitlock over her death in September 2006.
Both Himebaugh, 57, of Lake in the Hills, and Whitlock, 58, of Woodstock, are facing multiple felony charges stemming from the treatment of Sherman, Cole and two other Woodstock Residence residents who died in 2006.
The charges do not accuse Himebaugh or Whitlock of intentionally killing the residents, but allege they gave them dangerous doses of drugs either without a prescription or at levels greater than what was prescribed. Authorities have declined to comment on how the causes of death for the four residents.
Himebaugh and Whitlock both are free on bond while awaiting trial. A grand jury indicted them in April after a 15-month investigation into a string of suspected mercy killings at the 115-bed nursing home.
According to the indictments, Whitlock at one point encouraged Himebaugh to serve as an "Angel of Death" at the nursing home.
Himebaugh's attorney, Sam Amirante, disputed the lawsuit's claims.
"There is no evidence to support these allegations," he said. "We will defend against all of them vigorously."
Brewer said Sherman entered the Woodstock Residence a few days before his death to undergo hospice care. Himebaugh, who was not his regular nurse, administered to him a dose of morphine on Sept. 17, 2006, he said. Within an hour, Brewer said, Sherman was alternating between responsive and nonresponsive and within 28 hours he was dead.
"There's a lot of questions that make this look very suspicious," he said. "This was totally unacceptable."