NEWS RELEASE, July 24, 2000 - The Dallas Morning News

Man, 54, killed at nursing home
Roommate in wheelchair held in beating death of paraplegic
By Kendall Anderson

A 53-year-old Dallas nursing home resident was being held Sunday on first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges after the bludgeoning death of his 54-year-old paraplegic roommate Saturday morning.

Elzie Calahan, who was beaten with a cane and a dresser drawer, was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital several hours after the incident, which occurred shortly after 7 a.m.
Jose Amador, Mr. Calahan's roommate at Professional Care Center, was arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was being held at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on Sunday in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Homicide detectives had not determined late Sunday what led to the altercation at the nursing home, which is one block west of Harry Hines Boulevard on Record Crossing Road. Homicide Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick said, "We believe it was just over a disagreement."

Both patients were partially paralyzed, officials said.

Officials with Integrated Health Services, which owns the 155-bed center, declined to comment on most aspects of the case but said they were not aware of any problems between the two men, who had been roommates for less than two months.

Family members of Mr. Calahan could not be reached for comment.

Amelia Hillmon, the nursing assistant who said she was the first to respond to an alert light outside the men's room, was treated Saturday for a head injury suffered when Mr. Amador allegedly struck her with a cane, police said.

Ms. Hillmon, 33, appeared shaken when she described what she saw in the men's room.
" It was a bloody mess," Ms. Hillmon said as she reached for a cigarette at her Oak Cliff home Sunday. "Elzie was covered in so much blood that you couldn't tell if he was white, black or Hispanic."

Ms. Hillmon said she arrived at work a few minutes past 7 a.m. to find nurse alert lights, which signal help is needed, flashing outside many rooms. Sgt. Kirkpatrick said police believe the victim struck the alarm.

After punching in for work, Ms. Hillmon said, she began responding to each light, working her way down the second-floor hallway.

" I saw all the lights flashing, and I said, 'Where is everybody?'" Ms. Hillmon recalled. "That's why I went to the room ... when I was walking to the room, I heard thumping."

As she entered Room 231, Ms. Hillmon said, she saw Mr. Amador's bed and nearby walls splattered with blood. She didn't recognize the body on the floor. Mr. Amador then started toward her in his wheelchair and hit her on the head with a cane, police said.

Jon McPike, the center's executive director, disputed Ms. Hillmon's account.

He said there were no nursing alert lights flashing and other staff members responded to noises coming from the room 96 not just Ms. Hillmon.

"There was nothing we could do to foresee this happening," Mr. McPike said.

State officials have made several visits to the four-story Professional Care Center, which has been cited numerous times in recent years for such issues as inadequate supervision. One incident state officials noted included resident-on-resident violence.

In March 1997, a nurse aide walked in on an HIV-positive male resident sexually assaulting a female resident with Alzheimer's and heart disease.

Mr. McPike said the nursing home's record with the state has improved.

"This [the slaying] has nothing to do with the past history of this facility," he said.

One local lawyer who specializes in nursing home neglect and abuse cases said the killing begs one question.

"How can something like this happen if there was supervision?" said Jeffrey Rasansky, who was not familiar with the specifics of this most recent case.

Mr. McPike said a staff person had checked on the two men as recently as 7 a.m. He declined to say how many employees were on duty at the time.

If the two roommates were not getting along, state statute holds the nursing home responsible for addressing the concerns, Mr. Rasansky said.

Residents at the nursing home Sunday knew about the slaying but said they did not want to talk about it.

Copyright 2000, The Dallas Morning News. All rights reserved.