CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA - A nursing home resident who tried to kill or seriously injure roommates and tenants at two facilities by setting a serious of fires, including one in a suite-mate’s bed, was sentenced Monday to 19 years in prison.
Mary Louise Wilson, 54, pleaded guilty January 5 to two counts of attempted murder, three counts of arson, two counts of attempted arson and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon for threatening a resident with a knife and making a criminal threat with a deadly weapon.
Last August, the office of state Attorney General Jerry Brown, along with the National City Fire Department and El Cajon Police Department, began an investigation into a serious of fires set in nursing homes in the San Diego area
The first fire occurred in January 2009 at El Dorado Care in El Cajon. Wilson, a resident there, had been placed in a room with two other women–neither of whom could get in or out of bed without nursing assistance. One of them was attached to an oxygen tank.
In the middle of the night, Wilson set fire to the bed of one of her roommates while the woman was sleeping. A nurse heard the smoke alarm and used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze before anyone was hurt.
Four months later, Wilson was transferred to Golden Paradise Senior Living, an assisted living center in National City.
Soon after she arrived, Wilson set fires in the second-floor trash chute, the first-floor dumpster and the second-floor library. She also threw burning materials down the trash chute.
Firefighters from National City and the building’s sprinkler system doused the fires before anyone was hurt.
Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office identified Wilson as a suspect by linking the first at the two facilities.
The elder abuse attorneys at Berman & Riedel, LLP represent victims of elder abuse and neglect throughout San Diego and Southern California. If you would like to speak with a nursing home attorney, call Berman & Riedel, LLP today at (858) 350-8855. Our staff will happily provide you and your family with an initial free consultation to discuss with you any questions or concerns you may have regarding the care an elderly loved one is receiving in a nursing home or other type of elder care facility. To learn more about the firm, visit www.preventelderabuse.com.
