Nursing Home Death Trial Begins For Bolingbrook Man

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A bench trial has begun for a Bolingbrook man, who was charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care resident resulting in death in 2021.

Navdeep Dhall, 43, of Bolingbrook, is one of two nursing home employees charged after the death of a 96-year-old resident of Cordia Senior Living in Westmont. The resident was left on a bus overnight in freezing weather in February 2021, which caused her to die of cold exposure.

The DuPage County State's Attorney's Office said the bench trial started Monday in front of Judge Daniel Guerin. The trial was continued to Oct. 24.

Bert Mongreig, 63, of the 100 block of East Quincy Street, Westmont, was also charged with criminal neglect of a long-term care resident resulting in death.

Patch reported in 2021 that prosecutors said Mongreig drove the resident, who used a wheelchair, to a local hospital for medical attention Feb. 2 and did not make sure she was off the bus when he got back to Cordia Senior Living around 3 p.m. and left the bus in the back parking lot. Mongreig is accused of recording in a logbook that the woman had been brought back inside the nursing home.

Temperatures fell to 22 degrees Fahrenheit that night.

Dhall, who worked as a resident care manager, is accused of failing to try to find the woman the night of Feb. 2 or the morning of Feb. 3. Patch reported that police said other staff members began searching for the woman around 10:15 a.m. Feb. 3, before an employee found her unresponsive on the bus around 15 minutes later.

She was pronounced dead at the scene by Westmont Fire Department personnel. The DuPage County Coroner's Office ruled that the woman's death was caused by cold exposure due to being trapped in the vehicle.