Personal Care Assistant Charged With Neglect

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A personal care assistant who was entrusted with looking after a paralyzed woman has been charged with neglect and theft.

According to the complaint, Jennifer Darville was under the supervision of her friend Casandra Sannerud, 26, after Darville was paralyzed in an ATV crash.

It was during this time that Darville developed severe pressure sores. The infection was so bad it got into her leg bones and hip sockets. Doctors believe bandages on her legs should have been changed several times a day and that wasn't happening.

Darville wasn't able to see or feel any of it. Ultimately, she ended up having her legs amputated.

A WCCO story filed by Liz Collin in 2010 led to a state investigation. At the time of the initial report, Darville's mother said that she had reported what happened to her daughter to the state, the county attorney and the agency her PCA worked for. She said nobody called her back until WCCO started making phone calls.

Following their investigation, prosecutors said they could only find one note where Sannerud told anyone about Darville's pressure sores. The state argues Sannerud knew of Darville's condition and didn't notify anyone.

State fraud investigators also documented more than 100 dates where the timesheets for her home PCA work with Jennifer overlapped with work at another care center, dates when Jennifer was in the hospital, or times when other PCAs said they were working.

Sannerud has been charged with three counts of theft by false representation, one count of criminal neglect and one count of failure to report.