A district attorney in Georgia is calling for more “oversight and accountability” of assisted living communities in the state after a resident’s body was found buried in a shed on the property of one such facility and a nurse and her husband pleaded guilty to charges related to the case.
James Jacobs was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for the 2014 murder of Alexander Hunter at Rosewood Manor in Nicholls, GA. He had pleaded guilty to the charge on the previous day, when jury selection started for what was to be his trial. Jacobs also was sentenced to a concurrent term of 10 years for concealing Hunter’s death, a charge to which he also had pleaded guilty.
Jacob’s wife, Diana, a former licensed practical nurse and employee of the facility, was sentenced to prison in August after pleading guilty to concealing a death and exploiting an elderly/disabled adult. She received a sentence of 10 years on the concealment charge and 20 years on the exploitation charge; 10 of them are to be served concurrently with the other sentence.
Charges against the Jacobs’ son Coy have been dismissed, but charges against Diana Jacobs’ mother, Helen Malphus, remain pending.
Jacobs’ sons told investigators that James Jacobs had confessed to killing Hunter, according to TV station WFXL. No motive has been reported in the media.
District Attorney George Barnhill said that it was “a shame how little oversight and accountability there is in our state for personal care homes,” WFXL also reported. “I hope our legislature takes a serious look into this issue,” he added.
McKnight’s previously reported that various senior living sites listed the facility as having six beds.
