Criminal charge filed after senior’s brutal NJ nursing home death

SOUTH PLAINFIELD — A nursing home resident has been charged with reckless manslaughter, after hitting a 91-year-old woman and causing a fatal brain bleed.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced the charge against 81-year-old Angel Bermontiz on Friday, stemming from the Jan. 19 death of Clara Sutowski.

Three days earlier, Bermontiz slapped Sutowski causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor at AristaCare at Cedar Oaks, according to Ciccone and South Plainfield police.

When officers arrived, Bermontiz was being restrained in his bed by a staff member.

Both residents were on the facility’s floor that typically cares for dementia patients, according to the original police report.

Just a day after Sutkowski’s death, a 91-year-old man — who had been assaulted by a roommate in a separate, unaffiliated nursing home in Westfield — also died.

Herman Walker was hospitalized for two weeks before he died of his injuries on Jan. 20, according to his family in several reports.

As of Friday, Walker’s attack by a younger patient at Complete Care remained under investigation by the Union County Prosecutor's Office and Westfield Police.

Visitation hours and a funeral for Walker were planned in Newark on Feb. 1.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

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