Staff 'poison' about a 'very able matron'

Avola Humphreys, 61, of Dolgellau, had denied manslaughter and six charges of assault of elderly residents at a north Wales nursing home where she worked.

She had been accused of killing William Pettener, 94, from Lancashire.

The jury had heard that staff had made up the allegations against her because she was a nurse with strict standards.

The court was told how the allegations against Ms Humpreys led to the body of retired engineer Mr Pettener being exhumed.

She had been accused of spooning rhubarb and custard into the mouth of the retired engineer as he lay on a bed at the Bodawen nursing home near Porthmadog, Gwynedd, last April.

Staff claimed they had witnessed the defendant forcing food into his mouth so quickly that he choked to death.

A post mortem examination on Mr Petterner's exhumed body found food lodged in his lungs.

But Ms Humphreys denied she had fed Mr Pettener, who was originally from Ormskirk in Lancashire, on the day he died.

Avola Humphreys' legal team issued a statement after the case

And a pathologist told the jury that Mr Pettener had been a sick man with a number of potentially fatal conditions.

In addition, he said that it was possible for food to find its way into a person's airway after death.

Ms Humphreys had denied seven charges assaulting residents, Eric Cartwright, 86, Mary Wilson, 96, Michael Thomas, 70, and Gwen Evans, 87, between September 2003 and May 2004.

During the trial, Judge John Rogers directed the jury to bring a verdict of not guilty involving one of the charges.

The jury was told staff made the allegations shortly after a new owner took over the home and introduced a policy of encouraging workers to raise matters of concern.

But other witnesses, including a local GP, praised Ms Humphreys as "caring and efficient".

Witnesses for the prosecution, claimed the matron had tied an 86-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer to a chair, pulled him by the hair and stopped him from going to the toilet.

'Poison' allegations

Anther said he had seen the defendant cut an elderly woman resident's lip while she fed her with a spoon.

The defence claimed the allegations were "poison" against their client, who had a firm approach with staff when it came to the standards of care for residents.

Jane Hargreaves, a former cleaner at the home, told the court: "I went to work on the day she was suspended and one of the staff greeted me and said, 'We've finally got rid of the bitch'."

Carer George Oakes said: "Mrs Humphreys was quite strict with the staff. She put them in their place and corrected them when they were falling short in their duty."

Ms Humphreys wept in the dock as the verdict was read out.

Outside the court, her legal team said she was "extremely relieved and glad" at the finding.

North Wales Police, said carers at the home had been right to voice their concerns.

In a statement, it said it had conducted "a comprehensive and thorough investigation, during which no stone was left unturned".

The force said it had no plans for further investigation or exhumations.