Nov. 6, 2025 8p
(WGTD)---Separate sentencing hearings were held Thursday for a mother-daughter duo who were charged in connection with a case three years ago in which a dementia patient wandered outside and froze to death.
41-year-old Susan Valentin and her 22-year-old daughter, Liliana Lozano, were both employed on the 3rd shift at Parkside Manor Assisted Living and Memory Care in Kenosha when 89-year-old Helen Ende exited the facility in the middle of the night, triggering an alarm.
Believing that another resident had set off the alarm by leaning against a door, neither employee did the required bed check nor did an exterior perimeter check in the sub-freezing weather.
In court Thursday, Judge Jason Rossell sentenced Valentin--the mom--to five years in prison while her daughter, said to be less culpable, received what amounted to a sentence of 'time served.' She was expected to be released momentarily. Both had pleaded guilty to a charge of negligently abusing patients--cause death.
Valentin's attorney, Terry Rose, argued that the corporation that owns Parkside Manor should've been criminally charged as well, alleging that the defendants weren't properly trained and that the facility--with just three on-duty employees overnight--wasn't adequately staffed. "The full load shouldn't be placed on the little guy when the big guy escapes all responsibility," Rose said.
In passing sentence, Judge Rossell didn't comment directly on Rose's assertion. But Brian Ende, the victim's son, said afterward he wholeheartedly agreed.
The Ende family won a $3 million jury award--the state's max--following a civil trial held several months ago.
The case isn't over quite yet. A third caregiver/defendant--Demontae Collins--is scheduled for a jury trial early next year. Collins purportedly had skipped out on his shift the night that Helen Ende died, further aggravating the staffing situation.
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