Colonial Heights nursing home abuse case still developing, prosecutors say new evidence, victims are coming to light
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COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WRIC) -- On Wednesday, March 26, 13 defendants were in court for charges relating to an elder abuse case out of a Colonial Heights nursing home.
In the fall of 2024, the Virginia Department of Health launched an investigation into Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center following the death of an elderly patient after leaving the facility. This ultimately led to nearly 20 arrests — from nurses to administration and even the center's lawyer.
On Wednesday, March 26, many of those defendants appeared back in court for the first time in months, resulting in a slew of changes and updates 8News is breaking down for you.
One of those defendants pleaded guilty to her charge of falsifying patient records. Another had her misdemeanor charges dismissed. This leaves seven defendants with their hearings pushed back to later this summer -- with most of those cases involving the more serious felony charges such as abuse and neglect resulting in death.
On Wednesday, prosecutors told 8News that there is new evidence and three defendants may be facing more intense felony charges soon.
8News spoke with Colonial Heights Commonwealth's Attorney Gray Collins.
"There's a lot more work to go," Collins said. "That's why we continued the felony cases today...[they] were all continued, so we could get more information. We have more victims that have been identified and we want to make sure we do the right thing."
Most of the cases have been put on hold until July. The first and — so far — only trial related to this case finished on Wednesday with a judge finding the center's attorney not guilty.
Collins shared his appreciation for his team of prosecutors and their work.
"The two sets of people we want to protect the most are the children and the elderly, and that's why we're doing this," Collins said.
