Carer Wanted To Drown Elderly Cancer Survivor During Bath, Spared Jail

A care worker, who verbally abused an elderly cancer survivor, was spared jail time.

Annamaria McPadden, 36, who was convicted last year of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards 63-year-old Janette Griffin, who is now deceased, at Golfhill Care Home in Glasglow, Scotland, was instead ordered to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work within four months, Daily Record reported.

While she was initially charged with spraying the resident’s eyes with water and her face with deodorant, Glasgow Sheriff Mary McCrory dropped those charges later. Instead, the case against McPadden relied solely upon her colleague, 23-year-old Paige Finlay’s testimony which recounted an incident involving the victim, where the accused had behaved in an untoward manner.

Finlay told the court that Griffin was bed ridden and had trouble communicating with her caregivers. She was also used to shouting “nurse” and “tea” when she wanted their attention.

During that particular instance, Finlay and McPadden were helping Griffin, who had to use a hoist to be maneuvered to and from between her bed and bath. At the time, Finlay recalled the accused saying that she “couldn’t take to Janette,” which she took to mean that her colleague was not fond of the victim.

“When the hoist was halfway up Annamarie, said something along the lines of she wished the straps would snap,” the witness added. McPadden also allegedly said “let’s just drown the b---h” according to her. When Griffin continued to shout at them, the accused told her to "shut up or I will give you something to shout about."

When Finlay was asked if she reacted or questioned the accused about her abusive comments, the witness said that she did not, because she “knew she [McPadden] wouldn’t actually drown her.”

Finlay further said she witnessed McPadden hold “the hose was on her [Griffin’s] face too long,” and seeing that she intervened to stop her. Also, once out of the bath, McPadden apparently put wet towels on the 63-year-old’s face and later sprayed her with deodorant. The incident left Finlay concerned and she reported it to her superior the next day.

When Defence lawyer Jack Brown tried to establish Griffin as someone who was abusive toward her caregivers, Finlay did not disagree. However, she added, “She was difficult at times but you need to have patience to work in that kind of industry.”

Brown argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict his client since it all came down to Finlay’s sole testimony. However, the Sheriff’s Office said that Finlay was a fair and credible witness.