Crime
Nursing Home Staff Charged After Woman Chokes on Meatball, Is Left at Table ‘Face Down’ for 90 Minutes
A 34-year-old woman who required constant supervision choked on a meatball and was allegedly left without help for nearly 90 minutes at a New York nursing home, leading to criminal charges against three staff members.
The New York Attorney General’s Office confirmed the charges against Mary Stocking, Mara Lasher and Michael Sutter in an official statement released on Thursday, September 17.
Stocking, 74, worked as a dietary aide at the facility; Lasher, 33, as a nurse; and Sutter, 42, served as its administrator.
The three were indicted in Herkimer County over the August 23, 2025, incident at The Grand at Mohawk Valley in Ilion.
Prosecutors said the resident had moved into The Grand three days earlier with instructions requiring continuous one-on-one supervision.
Her medical conditions made swallowing solid food difficult and placed her at high risk of choking. Investigators allege Sutter ended that supervision after her first night.
During lunch, the woman allegedly took a meatball from another resident’s leftover tray and began choking. Prosecutors allege Stocking saw what was happening but did not call for help.
Lasher allegedly later saw the woman unresponsive and “slumped face down” on the table but failed to check on her.
Authorities said she remained there for nearly 90 minutes before other employees took her to her room and called 911.
She was pronounced dead there.
According to Law&Crime, all three defendants face charges including first-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable older adult, or an incompetent or physically disabled person, and willful violation of health laws.
Stocking also faces second-degree manslaughter.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, in an official statement, said her office has “zero tolerance for abuse and neglect of those in need of care.”
It was not immediately clear whether the defendants had entered pleas at the time of publication.
