LANSING (WWJ) – A Mid-Michigan caregiver is facing charges for allegedly allowing an elderly woman to go outside and freeze to death in a blizzard just before Christmas last year.
Colleen O’Connor of East Lansing was arraigned Monday in the 65A District Court in Clinton County with second-degree vulnerable adult abuse related to the December 2022 death. The charge is a 4-year felony.
At the time she died, the 82-year-old victim was under O’Connor’s care at Vista Springs Imperial Park at Timber Ridge, an assisted living facility in Clinton County where O’Connor was employed, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
In the very early morning hours of Dec. 23, O’Connor saw the elderly woman twice try to go outside into the blizzard without appropriate attire, according to Nessel’s office.
At the time, the area was experiencing single-digit temperatures, subzero windchill, and blowing and drifting snow. A snowplow driver found her in the parking lot of the facility around 7 a.m., partially buried in snow.
Authorities are not sure precisely how long she was outside before she was found. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital but died due to hypothermia shortly after arrival, according to the AG.
Nearly a year later, O’Connor stands accused of recklessly failing to act to prevent the victim from going outdoors into the storm, resulting in her death.
She was granted a $5,000 cash/surety bond at her arraignment Monday. Her probable cause hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.
“Caregivers have a responsibility under the law to act in the face of grave danger to a vulnerable person in their care,” Nessel said, per a press release.
Nessel’s Health Care Fraud Division investigated the case, with the help of the Bath Township Police Department.
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