Authorities suspect a criminal act may be behind the death Tuesday of a 61-year-old Brooklyn Center care facility patient whose tracheal tube was lodged down her throat and her suction device turned off, according to a court filing.
Anita Terry entered the Olidia Home Care facility on July 9 for treatment of pneumonia and was found by staff four days later hanging over the side of her bed, read a search warrant affidavit filed in Hennepin County District Court by Brooklyn Center police seeking her medical records from North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale, where she died.
What police have learned so far about Terry's death in the group home "tends to show a crime has been committed or tends to show that a particular person committed a crime," the filing read.
Facility staff told authorities that Terry had been "just fine" and alert minutes before she was discovered about 2:45 a.m. not breathing and with the tube down her throat and the suction device turned off.
Terry's family told police on Tuesday that she died that morning and that despite her having other health challenges, "her death was not expected and believed to be caused by the lack of care" in the facility, the court filing read.
North Memorial staff examined Terry and found that she was lacking oxygen to her brain. She was then placed in a coma.
Ambulance and police personnel on the call sought Terry's medical file from two licensed practical nurses at the group home in the 7200 block of Morgan Avenue N., "however, they were not able to produce any information, stating that the patient was 'new,' " read the search warrant affidavit.
Police said the case remains under investigation and no one has been charged.
North Memorial notified the state's Adult Abuse Reporting Center about Terry's case. The center in turn alerted police.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
