Jury finds former Marion nursing home employee not guilty in abuse trial
A Marion County jury returned a not guilty verdict on all charges levied against a woman accused in a nursing home abuse case that went to trial last week.
Randi Noel McKinley, age 33, Marion, was acquitted last Friday in Marion County Common Pleas Court of all charges related to a Sept. 14, 2019, incident at Community Care and Rehabilitation (now known as Embassy of Marion) in which she and another employee of the facility were accused of illegally restraining a dementia patient. McKinley admitted that she and an aide Jennifer Williams used a gait belt to restrain the patient in a reclining medical chair in order to keep him from falling.
Robert Whittington, age, 85, the patient who was restrained, died on Sept. 15, 2019. The coroner ruled that Whittington's death was due to natural causes and was not related to the incident that occurred on Sept. 14, 2019, when he was restrained.
In the wake of investigations by Community Care and Rehabilitation, the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Board of Nursing, and the Ohio Attorney General, prosecutors from the attorney general's office sought an indictment in the case, which was granted on Sept. 8, 2021, by the Marion County grand jury.
Following the three-day trial last week in Marion County Common Pleas Court, the jury returned a not guilty verdict on the following charges levied against McKinley: abduction, a third-degree felony; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; and forgery, a fifth-degree felony. She was charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly trying to delete a video of the incident and was charged with forgery for allegedly falsifying a report about the incident.
"(The not guilty verdict) was a validation not only for Randi McKinley, but it was a validation for our healthcare professionals that sometimes have to make split-second decisions to do what they feel will save a person and not put them in harm's way," said Rocky Ratliff, McKinley's attorney. "The state had a witness that was the director of nursing for that facility talking about a 'patient's right to fall.' And we know with our elderly patients that could cause death. All of our medical people are there to protect us, not to let us fall and then pick up the pieces.
"This is not a toddler that you're teaching to walk; this is an elderly person that is facing safety issues. So (Friday's) verdict was a message from the public that our healthcare people should have some latitude on doing what they think is right to protect our elderly patients and those with dementia that don't know their surroundings."
Ratliff also pointed out that the incident was never reported to local law enforcement agencies and it was nearly two years before any charges were filed in the case.
McKinley, who is a licensed practical nurse, now works at an assisted living facility in Marysville, Ratliff said.
"The one thing that I left out in my closing argument is that when I get older and am in Mr. Whittington's potential position, I definitely want a nurse like (McKinley) taking care of me," Ratliff said. "I don't want somebody who's letting me fall and hit my head on various things, especially when I don't know what's going on. I would definitely entrust my care to a Randi McKinley or anyone else involved in this case."
Williams, who was an aide Community Care and Rehabilitation when the incident occurred, entered into a plea agreement with the Ohio Attorney General to testify against McKinley. Williams was initially charged with one count of abduction, a third-degree felony. Per the terms of the plea agreement with the Ohio Attorney General, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of attempted abduction, a fourth-degree felony.
Last Friday, Judge Edwards sentenced Williams to three years of "intensive" community control and a total of 80 days in jail to be served at the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion. The judge is allowing Williams to serve the jail time on weekends so she can work on weekdays. The judge waived all court and attorney's fees and did not impose any fines on Williams.
Louis Schoeneman, who was a registered nurse at Community Care and Rehabilitation, was also charged in connection with the incident that occurred in September 2019. After being indicted on one count of complicity to abduction and one count of tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies, he entered into a plea agreement with the state, although he never took the stand to testify against McKinley.
Schoeneman pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing official business, a fifth-degree felony. The sentencing hearing for Schoeneman is scheduled for Aug. 30 before Judge Edwards.
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Jury finds former Marion nursing home worker not guilty in abuse trial
