A former nursing home worker accused of killing an elderly dementia patient entered his court hearing waving and giving some in the room the finger.
Claude Shinall is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 79-year-old Gene Farnsworth, formerly of Davenport. Shinall is accused of choking and beating the man in his room in October at Marigold Nursing Home in Galesburg. Farnsworth died one month later, but was able to speak with police in the emergency room at the time of the incident.
Farnsworth told police that a dark haired man had tried to kill him in his room, choking him, and punching him.
At Shinall's hearing Tuesday, February 23, 2016, Officer Mark McLaughlin testified he later interviewed Shinall, who told him he choked the elderly man because he was angry that he kept falling out of bed.
McLaughlin also testified that a forensic pathologist concluded that Farnsworth's death was a result of complications due to the choking.
"My brother was 79 years old and he was helpless," said Linda Harvey, the victim's sister.
"There's no way he (Shinall) should have been in a nursing home with his anger issues," she said.
Shinall entered Tuesday's hearing waving to his family and friends, and flashed his middle finger toward the courtroom camera and the section where Farnsworth's family was sitting.
"It was rude and disgusting," said Veronica Harvey, Farnsworth's niece.
A trial is set for April.