A nurse’s aide at an Indiana care facility is now facing felony charges after allegedly battering multiple elderly residents — including a 95-year-old woman who suffered a fatal stroke just days later.
Key facts
- Denise Beard, 54, faces 5 felony charges including neglect resulting in death
- Victim Laura Stump, 95, died Dec. 23 after suffering a stroke two days post-attack
- Beard had already been fired from a prior facility two months earlier for similar abuse
- Incidents occurred at Munster Med Inn, Indiana
- Beard currently held on $40,000 bond
A 54-year-old former nurse’s aide in Indiana is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly attacking a string of elderly patients in her care — including a 95-year-old woman who died just days after the incident.
Denise Beard has been charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and four counts of battery against a disabled person, following a series of alleged incidents at two separate Indiana care facilities.
“I don’t know why I do this stupid job.”
— Beard, overheard during the night shift, per court documents
The investigation centers on the Munster Med Inn, where a registered nurse reported hearing screaming coming from a patient room late on the evening of December 14. The nurse found Beard pushing 95-year-old Laura Stump in a wheelchair, allegedly ramming it too close to the side of a bed — tearing skin from the elderly woman’s arm and hand.
When Stump’s daughter arrived that same night, her mother told her that Beard had punched her, grabbed her arm, and shaken her repeatedly. Court documents further allege Beard got in the victim’s face and made racially charged remarks before the confrontation escalated.
Stump reportedly looked at Beard and said: “You hurt me. You called me names and you tore my skin.”
Two days later, Stump suffered a debilitating stroke. She died on December 23.
As investigators reviewed that night’s events, more alleged victims emerged. Another resident claimed Beard punched her in the forehead and called her a derogatory name. Beard then allegedly began slapping that woman’s roommate. An 80-year-old male resident separately accused Beard of throwing a water bottle in his face when he struggled to follow her instructions.
The investigation also revealed a troubling prior employment history. Just two months before the Munster incidents, Beard had been terminated from the South Shore Health and Rehabilitation Center in Gary. She had been suspended only two weeks into that job after calling a resident “lazy” and making a threatening remark about not helping him if he fell.
On October 6 — while still at South Shore — a 95-year-old resident there was found crying with a welt on her cheek and a swollen lip, alleging that Beard had repeatedly struck her. Beard allegedly denied the claims but became combative when confronted.
Shalom Menora, CEO of Sterling Healthcare, told The Times of Northwest Indiana that Beard was immediately suspended and then fired when she refused to cooperate. “We reported the allegation to the state and started an investigation immediately,” he said.
Beard is currently being held on $40,000 bond. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
