A former certified nursing assistant at the Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center in Gillette charged in the freezing death of an 88-year-old memory care patient was bound over to district court Tuesday on an amended involuntary manslaughter charge.
This means that a judge found sufficient evidence to charge Bernard D. Hale, 57, in the death of Judith Duvall, who wandered outside of the care facility in early January and died, according to the Gillette Police Department.
Duvall was found lying unresponsive in the snow on the morning of Jan. 10 after spending more than nine hours in frigid temperatures before being discovered by staff.
Duvall’s official cause of death was exposure and hypothermia, according to the Campbell County Coroner’s report.
Hale appeared before Campbell County Circuit Judge Wendy Bartlett on Tuesday wearing an orange detention-issued jumpsuit with his hair fastened in a low bun against his neck.
He bent his head and stared downward at the table next to his public defender as the state made its case alleging Hale’s reckless behavior that night led to Duvall’s death.
Campbell County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Greg Steward argued that Hale failed to adhere to standard practices of care by disarming the alarm after Duvall exited instead of checking to see if a patient had gone outside and had triggered the alarm.
His Unit
Hale was one of two contract certified nursing assistants on duty that night. Hale was in charge of Duvall and the other patients in the Cottonwood unit while the other CNA floated between the two memory care units.
Dan Stroup, detective corporal for the Gillette Police Department, testified that Duvall was seen on surveillance video leaving the building around 7:10 p.m. at which point an alarm sounded.
About 11 minutes later, Hale is seen on video disarming the alarm without opening the door to look outside or question a resident sitting in a chair adjacent to the door, Stroup said.
Because it was dark outside causing a mirror-effect on the windows, Stroup said it was impossible to see anyone in the courtyard without opening the door or going outside to check.
The state further argued that the weather, which records show hovered between 15 to 35 degrees that night, played a significant factor in the potential risk to patients like Duvall who were known to wander outside.
Steward further argued that Hale, who has been a traveling CNA “for decades” including stints in cold climates, should have known the “inherent risk dangers” posed by such exposure.
“Had the defendant immediately responded to that alarm, he could have found J.D. [Judith Duvall] before she found the plight that she did,” Steward said. “The failure to do so, that reckless conduct, is what caused her death.”
The state also noted that Hale then reportedly made 15 entries into Duvall’s chart — duties consistent with the monitoring of patients — related to her care around 7:22 p.m., despite the fact that Duvall was outside unsupervised, according to surveillance video.
After Duvall’s body was discovered, Hale allegedly then went back to Duvall’s chart to strike out a handful of those entries.
Hale’s alleged failure to check on patients every two hours per industry standard was also called into account, Steward said.
Hale reportedly checked on Duvall at midnight, but did not enter her room out of fear of disturbing her, according to court documents.
No Policies In Place
In his defense, public defender David Holmes argued that Legacy did not have written protocols in place governing door alarm procedures or two-hour rotations.
Therefore, Holmes said that Hale should not be held culpable for actions leading to Duvall’s death.
“We heard the testimony here today that there were no specific policies and procedures in place that Mr. Hale would have been given, either written or even unwritten, according to the testimony of corporal [Stroup] that would have indicated to Mr. Hale the standard of care or the policy and procedure that is specific to either door alarm investigations per se logs or for doing the two hour checks,” Holmes said.
He further argued that the other CNA on duty that night had also responded to subsequent alarms in the same manner as Hale by not opening the door to look outside.
“There was no indication that the way that was conducted was in any way lacking in conformity with the standard of care, or at least the common practice at the Legacy at that time,” he said.
He also made the point Hale may have been entering actions into Duvall’s chart that Hale noted prior to Duvall going outside.
Breeann Richardson, marketing director for Campbell County Health which owns the Legacy facility, said the hospital can’t comment on hospital policies and protocols, citing an active investigation.
Nor could she comment on whether there are any lawsuits pending on behalf of the Duvall family.
A Duvall family member also declined to comment and instead directed Cowboy State Daily to the family lawyer, John Cotton, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hale is currently being detained in the Campbell County Detention Center. If found guilty of the charge, Hale faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
A second investigation is ongoing by the Gillette Police Department regarding the overdose death of 66-year-old Rhonda Parker in November 2024.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
