Friday, January 15, 2021

Caregiver charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect

By Francis Scarcella

A Ranshaw woman employed as a home health caregiver is charged with involuntary manslaughter and neglect, according to Coal Township police.

Debora Avellino, 57, of Webster Street, was arrested and brought before Shamokin District Judge John Gembic on Tuesday on the charges of felony neglect of care of a person she was responsible to provide care for and misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter after police said Avellino caused the death of Vincent Avellino, 83, because she failed to provide care for him.

Coal Township police say they were contacted by the county Area Agency on Aging after an October incident that saw Vincent Avellino brought to the Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital by Debora Avellino for a report of a skin tag on Vincent Avellino's body that had developed in the course of three to four days.

An emergency room doctor told police the wound Vincent Avellino had could not have developed over the course of a few days and that it had to take several weeks to develop to the level of severity it did, police said. The doctor told officers if the wound had been treated immediately, it would have healed, police said.

An emergency room nurse who was working the night Vincent Avellino was brought in agreed with the doctor and told officers the wound was there for more than a few days, police said.

Police say Vincent Avellino needed emergency surgery and the doctor on-call referred the case to the county's aging office because it appeared to be severe neglect. Vincent Avellino died in early November.

Police say on Oct. 26 they spoke with a representative of the aging office who told officers Vincent Avellino was moved to Geisinger Medical Center, in Danville, because of complications after receiving the surgery.

Coal Township police arrested Debora Avellino on Tuesday, and Gembic sent her to Northumberland County Prison on $20,000 cash bail. 

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