Family Members Charged In Death Of 71-Year-Old Chesco Woman

PARKESBURG, PA —The husband and daughter of a Chester County woman were arrested on charges of abusing and neglecting a 71-year-old woman who they were taking care of, prosecutors said Monday.

Richard Nightingale, 76, the victim’s husband, and Kaci Nightingale, 38, the victim’s daughter, both of Coatesville, were arraigned Friday before District Judge Nancy Gill in Parkesburg on charges of aggravated assault, neglect of a care-dependent person, and related charges.

The two are free on $150,000 bail each awaiting preliminary hearings.

“The facts of this case are extremely disturbing,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said Monday. “For a woman in need of care to be callously neglected by her own family is hard to fathom.”

The attorney general’s office did not release the woman’s name.

According to the attorney general’s office:

The woman died as a result of a stroke, according to the results of an autopsy.

Authorities said she had severe bedsores that were not treated.

The victim was found dead in her home on July 20, 2021. She was nude, covered by a blanket on a mattress without a bed frame, and her body was in deplorable condition.

"The defendants were responsible for caring for their vulnerable mother and wife, and they continuously ignored that duty,” Henry said.

Both Nightingales lived with the victim at the time of the offenses. Her daughter was employed as a personal care attendant funded through Medicaid to take care of her ailing mother who suffered from dementia, was non-verbal, and could not get out of bed on her own.

Her husband told investigators he was a primary caregiver.

“This crime is additionally troubling because one of the defendants was paid with public funds to provide the care her mother so desperately needed and deserved, but was ultimately denied," Henry said,