Aide charged in death of man scalded by hot cereal

An aide at a Montgomery County assisted living facility has been charged in the death of a 79-year-old man who died two weeks after he was fed scalding hot cereal.

Alvador Thompson is charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect of a care dependent person and related offenses, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman says.

Thompson, 55, of Hatfield, waived her preliminary hearing yesterday and has been releasd on $5,000 bail.

Thompson was charged with feeding Ronald Myers, who could not care for himself, on Oct. 8 at the Cambridge-Brightfield Assisted Living Facility in Hatfield Township, officials say.

She poured a cup of hot cereal into his mouth without cooling it, burning Myers' lip, tongue, and the inside of his mouth. Thompson also did not report the incident for several hours, delaying a trip to the hospital, the prosecutor said.

Myers spent three days in the hospital and died Oct. 23 at home after he stopped eating because of burns in his mouth and throat, Vetri Ferman said.

She said that after detectives learned of Myers' death they reviewed medical records and interviewed witnesses before deciding to charge Thompson.