Michigan caregiver sentenced in hypothermia death of 82-year-old who was found in snow
(CBS DETROIT) - A 58-year-old Michigan woman has been sentenced in connection for her role in the 2022 freezing death of an 82-year-old woman, officials said.
Colleen Kelly O'Connor, of East Lansing, was sentenced to two years of probation with six months in jail. In June, she was convicted by a jury of one count of second-degree vulnerable adult abuse.
O'Connor was also ordered to pay $1,115.00 in restitution to the victim's daughter.
The incident happened at Vista Springs Imperial Park at Timber Ridge, an assisted living facility in Clinton County. The 82-year-old, who was under O'Connor's care, died from exposure after she was left unsupervised.
Officials say O'Connor saw the victim go outside into a blizzard with single-digit temperatures and subzero wind-chill without the appropriate attire twice early on Dec. 23, 2022.
At around 7 a.m., a snowplow driver found the 82-year-old partially buried in the snow. It is unknown how long the woman had been outside before she was found, according to the attorney general's office.
She was taken to a local hospital, where she died from hypothermia.
The Bath Township Police Department and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office investigated the case, and O'Connor was charged in November 2023.
"Caregivers bear immense responsibility, which is tragically neglected at times," Nessel said. "The devastating consequences of this incident underscore the importance of vigilance and compassion in fulfilling that obligation."