Springfield paramedics charged with murder, accused of suffocating man
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- Two Springfield, Illinois paramedics have been charged with murder – on accusations that they suffocated a patient they were called to help.
They will have their first court appearance Thursday. But CBS 2's Charlie De Mar sat down with the victim's mother and sister in Springfield a day before.
Earl Moore Jr.'s family is understandably devastated - they were extremely emotional during their conversation with De Mar. They described Moore as an incredible son and uncle.
"They was wrong. They was wrong," said Moore's mother, Rosena Washington. "And because of what they did, I no longer have my son. My son can tell me he loves me no more. I can't tell that no more."
Moore was a longtime manager at the local McDonald's. His mother is still trying to understand how their son was killed after calling 911.
Body cam footage from the Springfield Police Department shows Moore, 35, in distress on Dec. 18. A relative told police that Moore was in alcohol withdrawal and hallucinating at the time.
"Sit up, now! I am not playing with you tonight! Sit up!," she is heard saying. She later says, "I am seriously not in the mood for this dumb s**t."
The video shows Moore trying to stand, but he can be seen falling. Springfield police officers then help him outside.
Afterward, Finley and fellow EMS worker Peter Cadigan are seen strapping Moore face down in a stretcher. It is unclear why they did so.
Moore later died at the hospital, and his death was ruled a homicide. Both paramedics were charged with first-degree murder.
"Call for help and get murdered - murdered," Washington said. "There was no reason why he should not be here - a 35-year-old healthy young man."
From Sangamon County:
In the charges filed Jan. 9, prosecutors said Finley and Cadigan tightened restraints across Moore's back when he was face down, thereby causing death "by positional and compression asphyxia."
Moore's mother and sister said they want accountability. They want both EMS workers to go to prison.
"They need to pay for what they did," Washington said.
An attorney for Finley said the state is turning what would presumably be negligence into a criminal offense – describing the charges as an overreaching stretch.
Cadigan's attorney calls the case highly unusual, and said his client is devastated.