Details of Verdugo Valley Wellness Centre Indictment

UPDATE: Patch obtained a copy of the Grand Jury indictment against the Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing and Wellness Centre. Below are the official charges:

"On and between January 22, 2009 and February 28, in the County of Los Angeles, the said Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing Wellness Center and Phyllis Paver did, under circumstances and conditions likely to produce great bodily hard and death, knowingly and willfully cause and permit Charles Morrill, a dependent adult, to suffer, and inflicted theron, unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering and, having the care and custody of said person, willfully caused and permitted him to be placed in a situation in which his health was endangered, and knew and reasonably should have known that said person, Charles Morrill, was a dependent adult. 

"It is futher alleged, pursuant to section 368(b)(3), that the defendants Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing and Wellness Centre and Phyllis Paver, proximately caused the death of said victim, age 34 years old."

The indictment lists 35 witnesses and recommends that the Centre and Paver each be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Mila Parde, the current administrator of the Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing and Wellness Centre, said she could not comment on the allegations.

Officer Tom Lorenz of the Glendale Police Department reported that though there has been high volumes of calls for service, they are "due to medical issues or people walking away and going missing," rather than criminal issues.

Previously: The Verdugo Valley Skilled Nursing and Wellness Centre in Montrose and former administrator Phyllis Paver were indicted July 11 charges of felony abuse and neglect after the death of a patient by suicide, the state attorney general's office announced.

The news was first reported in the Glendale News Press.

The center and Paver each face one felony count of dependent adult abuse and neglect.

State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued a press release on Monday announcing that a trial is scheduled to commence Sept. 6. 

"The indictments stem from the admission of Charles Morrill, a suicidal 34-year-old man, to a skilled nursing facility which lacked the staff and training to care for him,"  the AG's office said in its release.

Between Feb. 3 and 22 of 2009, Morrill attempted suicide three times, first by wheeling himself into traffic and twice by releasing a fire extinguisher into his mouth, the AG's office said. Tragically, his final attempt on February was succesful.

Check back with Patch for more details as we get them.