John Jefferson
Insets, from left: Dinora Cardoso, Eva Fontes Cardoso, Kayla Cardoso, and Lisa Hamilton. Background: The location where Dinora Cardoso was found in severe neglect (WFXT).
A Massachusetts daughter, granddaughter and nurse are accused of extreme neglect that led to the death of an elderly woman found stuck to a mattress infested with cockroaches, bedbugs and feces.
Eva Fontes Cardoso, 53, Kayla Cardoso, 31, and Lisa Hamilton, 64, face charges of manslaughter, caregiver neglect of an elder, larceny, and Medicaid fraud in the death of 79-year-old Dinora Cardoso, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced in a press release.
Eva Cardoso, the victim’s daughter, was hired as Dinora Cardoso’s personal care attendant (PCA). Kayla Cardoso, the victim’s granddaughter and Eva Cardoso’s niece, was the elder Cardoso’s health care proxy and PCA Program Surrogate.
The women allegedly billed MassHealth for services that were not provided, including for services allegedly provided while Dinora was inpatient and after her death, prosecutors said. Additionally, bank records show that Eva Cardoso regularly provided a portion of her PCA check to Kayla Cardoso. MassHealth paid Eva Cardoso over $140,000 for her PCA care of Dinora Cardoso.
The case came to light on May 17, 2023, when Eva Cardoso called 911 to report her mother needed an ambulance. First responders say they found the victim covered in cockroaches, bedbugs, and feces at a senior housing complex.
Local Fox affiliate WXFT reported that the conditions were so bad that the victim was stuck to the skin-encrusted bedding. First responders could not separate the woman from the mattress, so authorities had to take her and the mattress to the hospital, where she could be separated from the bed, the outlet reported.
She died two days later at a hospital from necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis due to infected ulcers, officials said.
Seven days before the 911 call, Hamilton, a registered nurse, reported after a visit that the woman had been “clean, well cared for, alert, and that her diabetes was well-controlled,” prosecutors said.
“She made no mention of pressure ulcers, feces, bedbugs, or cockroaches,” they added.
Hamilton’s report allegedly contradicted EMT and hospital records that clearly showed Dinora Cardoso had completely uncontrolled diabetes and that the level of insect infestation she had experienced would have taken at least several weeks to accumulate, officials said.
The defendants are set to appear in court on Jan. 15.
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