Home Health Aide Charged in Queens Woman's Death After Alleged Procedure

A home health aide was charged with manslaughter in the death of an 81-year-old Queens woman after an alleged medical procedure caused excessive bleeding, police sources told CBS New York. The medical examiner had not announced an official cause of death in the October 30 reporting.

Patricia Williams, 46, of Brooklyn, was arrested October 29 in connection with the death of Lillie Hill, who received care at her home on 146th Street in Jamaica. Police questioned Williams before announcing the charge, according to NBC New York.

The case centers on what happened during Hill’s care, but authorities had not released a complete public account of the alleged procedure or the basis for the manslaughter accusation.

Emergency Call Reported a Woman in Distress

Police responded to a 911 call at Hill’s home during the afternoon. The caller reported a woman in distress who was vomiting, police sources told CBS. First responders found Hill unresponsive.

CBS reported that Hill was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Investigators were examining what occurred before the emergency response, while the medical examiner was expected to determine how she died.

Neighbors told CBS that Hill had been ill for some time and used a wheelchair. They expressed sadness at her death and concern about the allegations surrounding the person who had been caring for her.

“If it was a sickness that took her, I could understand,” neighbor Miguel Robinson told the station. “But with all these different accusations now, it’s, like, sad.”

Reports Describe a Possible Catheter or IV Connection

CBS’s account described an unspecified medical procedure. NBC, citing a law enforcement source, reported that the death might have been IV-related.

The New York Post later reported, also citing law enforcement sources, that Williams told investigators she cut Hill’s catheter because Hill asked her to do so. The newspaper said Williams maintained she had not intended to hurt her client.

That account was not a public statement from Williams or an independently established medical conclusion. It was a description of what unnamed sources said she told investigators. The reports did not establish how the different descriptions of the procedure related to one another.

Williams’ arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was pending on the evening of October 30, prosecutors told the Post. NBC reported that it was not immediately clear whether she had an attorney.

The manslaughter charge remains an allegation. The medical examiner’s determination and subsequent court filings are expected to clarify the medical and legal accounts of Hill’s death.

References: Home Health Aide Arrested After Jamaica, Queens Woman Found Dead | Woman Dies, Home Health Aide Arrested in Queens | NYC Home Care Attendant Charged in Death of Woman, 81; Claims Senior Told Her to Cut Catheter, Sources Say

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