Massachusetts Nursing Home Resident Murdered in Her Bed
Elizabeth Barrow
Elizabeth Barrow celebrated her 100th birthday on August 21, 2009. She had lived at Brandon Woods nursing home in Boston, Massachusetts for approximately four and a half years. According to her son, Scott Barrow, "She loved the nursing home. She had a lot of friends there."
Barrow's family took her out for lunch on September 23, 2009 and went shopping for winter clothes. Reportedly, she was in good health and good spirits that day. Sadly, Barrow was found dead in her bed with a plastic bag over her head in her room that she shared with a woman in her late 90s on September 24, 2009. There was no sign of a struggle. Autopsy results found that Barrow was strangled and her death has been ruled a homicide.
Reportedly, Barrow's roommate had threatened to kill Barrow because she had "too many visitors", but that account was dismissed by Scott Picone, Chief of Operations at The Essex Group Management Corporation, who manages Brandon Woods. Picone said, "There was never any threats by the roommate. There was never any threats witnessed or reported."
According to Department of Public Health documents, in 2009, Brandon Woods has received citations in the past for:
- Failing to provide immediate treatment for a resident suffering from a seizure;
- Failing to document which residents had dangerous infections;
- Calling a resident a "pain" for requesting assistance too frequently;
- Giving a resident eight doses too many of an antibiotic.
In 2008, the facility was also cited for failing to provide a plan to assist a resident suffering from depression and mental illness deal with a roommate with whom there had been several altercations.
The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.
