Nursing assistant in Massachusetts arrested for slapping, jumping on patients with Alzheimer's

From WCVB-TV in Boston:

QUINCY, Mass. -- A young nursing assistant is accused by prosecutors of a horrific case of elder abuse in which she allegedly slapped or jumped on four elderly Alzheimer’s patients.

Kara A. Murphy (pictured), 23, of Quincy is under house arrest after pleading not guilty August 14 to seven counts of assault and battery on a person over 60.

The women were attacked last Saturday during Murphy’s shift at the Atrium at Faxon Woods in Quincy, according to a police report.

Murphy, a certified nursing assistant, is accused of grabbing an 89-year-old woman by the jaw during a bowel movement and forcing her onto a toilet, the Boston Herald reported.

“I should make her eat it,” Murphy told a co-worker according to the police report cited by the Herald.

In another incident, Murphy allegedly bounced up and down on the lap of a wheelchair-bound, 96-year-old woman.

“The victims in these types of cases are among the most vulnerable,” said Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating.

Murphy is also charged with slapping a 92-year-old woman who was in a wheelchair and hitting a 79-year-old woman on the shoulder.

Murphy was arrested at her home Thursday night after a co-worker alerted police.

Murphy faces 21 years in prison if found guilty. Neither Murphy nor her attorney could not be reached by the newspaper for comment.