PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The woman charged with slitting the feeding tubes of six Philadelphia nursing home patients has been arrested in Georgia.
Joan Wood Barnes, 53, was taken into custody at the Toccoa, Ga., home of her mother-in-law, officials told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Barnes, a licensed practical nurse, has been charged with six counts of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument of crime, the newspaper said.
The feeding tubes of six people, ranging in age from their 40s to 80s and all too mentally impaired to care for themselves, were silt Sept. 22. Nursing home workers discovered the cuts and no patient was injured, although all had to have surgery to have tubes reattached.
Barnes had been interviewed by police last Thursday about the incident, Philadelphia Police spokesman Joseph Fox said at a news conference. Authorities said Barnes has worked at the nursing home for about a year, but the nursing home had said it was not going to renew her contract, which expires Friday, the Inquirer said.
