A Galesburg man, accused of beating an elderly Alzheimer's patient who later died, remains in custody and the victim's family spoke exclusively with WQAD.
"He had Alzheimer's and then he had a stroke, I couldn't lift him anymore," said Janie Harroun.
So she and her siblings placed her dad, 79-year old Gene Farnsworth into Marigold Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Galesburg.
"He was pretty much an invalid. Once he had the strokes, he couldn't use his arm or both of his legs, so he couldn't walk," Harroun said.
Before she had even had a chance to visit from her home in Moline, Harroun was summoned to a hospital in Galesburg. Her dad, she said, was in bad shape, with two black eyes, a bloody nose, and choke marks around his neck.
"When we walked into the hospital and saw my dad like that, I just lost it. It was not pretty. The bruises on his neck, he had a whole hand print on his neck. I couldn't take it. I had to leave," Harroun said, through tears.
Her dad was able to tell his family and police that a dark-haired man did it.
"He said he hit him, he choked him, and he punched him in the stomach, and he kicked him in the back," she said.
Her dad, she said, had troubles afterward, drinking and eating.
"He couldn't swallow after the incident. I never saw him awake after the incident," she said.
One month later, Mr. Farnsworth died.
Police arrested an aide at the nursing home, 24-year-old Claude Shinall of Galesburg. He is charged with aggravated battery of a senior citizen.
Police had said Shinall admitted being angry with the Alzheimer's patient because he kept falling or scooting out of bed.
"We just don't want this to happen to anybody else's family. That was just awful. I don't want him to be able to get into another nursing home," said Harroun.
"My son took it really hard. He was close to his grandpa. Somebody needs to be there to monitor these people," she said.
Prosecutors have said they are waiting for results of an autopsy to see what exactly caused Mr. Farnsworth's death before deciding if any more charges will be filed.
Shinall remains in the Knox County Jail.