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Obiageriaku Iheanacho, 36, of Batlimore, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with all but seven suspended after she admitted to her role in the assault and death of Ellsworth Johnson-Bey, a dementia patient, last year.
According to prosecutors, Iheanacho was a Geriatric Nursing Assistant (GNA) assigned to the Autumn Lake Health Care Post Acute Care Center in Baltimore when she was caught on camera pushing Johnson-Bey to the ground on May 15, 2022.
Johnson-Bey had to be taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a left hip fracture before returning to the facility weeks later.
He never got out of bed again.
Officials say that Johnson-Bey underwent physical therapy, but eventually contracted pneumonia, developed blood clots in his lungs due to a lack of activity, and then was diagnosed with COVID-19 before his death.
Johnson-Bey died at an area hospital on Sept. 5, 2022, nearly four months after he was assaulted.
Iheanacho was charged in January this year by the Baltimore Police Department following her arrest.
"Johnson-Bey's death was incredibly tragic," Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said. "As always, our thoughts are with his surviving relatives who continue to suffer the heartbreaking loss of their loved one.
"Although the events leading up to (his) death can never be undone, it is our hope that (Iheanacho's) plea and sentencing in this case will bring some closure to the grieving."
Specifically, Iheanacho pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and abuse of a vulnerable adult.
When she is released, Iheanacho will also have to serve five years of supervised probation, during which she will be barred from caring for any vulnerable adults.
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