Allegheny County prosecutors will not file charges against a 92-year-old man with dementia who police say pushed 80-year-old Joan Sterling to the ground at Asbury Heights, a senior living facility on Bower Hill Road in Mt. Lebanon. Sterling broke her hip in the fall on June 11 and died on July 27, and the county medical examiner’s office has since classified her death as a homicide.
The decision not to prosecute came after consultation between prosecutors and Allegheny County police, according to TribLIVE. Rebecca Spangler, the Allegheny County district attorney’s chief of staff, said the man who pushed Sterling is not competent to proceed to trial and that intent could not be established. Both men and women involved in the incident resided in the same memory care unit at Asbury Heights, where Sterling had lived for five years.
What Happened at Asbury Heights
Allegheny County police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said an elderly male resident pushed Sterling, and the incident took place in a common area of the facility with staff present. Mt. Lebanon police requested assistance from county detectives after the incident occurred, the outlet reports. Madalinsky explained that a homicide ruling indicates a death was caused by another individual’s actions, but he noted that such a ruling is not a declaration of criminal guilt.
Sterling’s death resulted from blunt impact injuries to her neck and hip, per the same account. Her niece, Carole Salvato, told the outlet she was informed by the medical examiner’s office on October 7 that the death would be listed as a homicide. Salvato said she does not believe the man had ill intent and does not blame the Asbury Heights facility for what happened.
A Legacy in Pittsburgh Classrooms
Sterling grew up in Mt. Lebanon and spent more than 30 years working in the Pittsburgh Public Schools system, starting as a classroom teacher before becoming principal of the North Side’s Conroy Education Center. The school is a special education facility that supports students requiring life skills support, autistic support, and multiple disability support, according to the report. Sterling had Alzheimer’s disease and had lived in Asbury Heights’ memory care unit for five years before her death…