CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Silver Spring caregiver slaps 95-year-old patient in wheelchair
SILVER SPRING, Md. (ABC7) – A hidden security camera allegedly captured a caregiver slapping a 95-year-old woman in a wheelchair twice – one smack so loud, the sound was captured by the camera.
Police have since charged Roxann Bucchan-Straker, 48, of SE Washington, with two counts of second degree assault, and a third count of vulnerable adult abuse.
According to court records, Bucchan-Straker was hired to provide private care to the elderly woman living at the Springvale Terrace Retirement Home in Silver Spring. The woman is wheelchair bound and was dependent on Bucchan-Straker for toileting, dressing and meals.
Police say video recorded on November 20, 2015, clearly shows Bucchan-Straker smack her elderly patient in the face with a cell phone. A few minutes go by, and then, the video reportedly shows Bucchan-Straker hit her patient against the face again while “aggressively” ordering her to eat her food. The second alleged strike came with such force; the camera recorded the “smacking” sound.
Police say the elderly woman's son placed the video camera in his mother's residence to survey if she was being treated poorly.
Court records indicate that Bucchan-Straker has two children and lives with her boyfriend. She is currently registered with the Maryland State Board of Nursing as a "medication technician."
It’s unclear why Montgomery County Police waited 15 months to file charges against Bucchan-Straker. Nevertheless, she now faces up to 25 years in prison. The SE resident will return to Montgomery County District Court on March 16, for a preliminary hearing.
Editor's Note: The victim's daughter reached out and told us her mother passed away in November 2016.
