When an Arizona woman went to visit her uncle at an independent living community in the West Valley last week, she made a horrifying discovery.
Gerald McClellan, 75, was dead, still sitting upright in his chair.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies believe McClellan had been dead for three to four days before anyone noticed.
“It looked like a skeleton in a chair. The face, the eyes were hollowed out,” Angela Boorn told AZFamily. “That horrifying sight is burned into my mind.”
Boorn said she’s still in shock over the discovery of her uncle, who she says was like a father to her, and angry that staff at LifeStream at Sun City didn’t check on him sooner.
“I just remember running out of the room and running to the front desk and just asking her when was the last time you checked on him,” Boorn said.
She said an executive director later admitted no one had seen McClellan since the weekend before.
“He didn’t push the button; they tried to call him, didn’t get a hold of him and still did not go check on him,” Boorn said. “It wasn’t one day, it wasn’t two days, it wasn’t three days, it was four.”
McClellan had moved into a studio apartment at the facility, with its nearly $1,700 monthly rent, in January, just after his wife died.
“I promised my aunt that I would take care of him when she passed away,” Boorn said, adding that she felt confident about the facility because the staff told her there was a daily wellness check system in place.
“Every day by 10 a.m., a staffing member was supposed to reach out to him or come check on him,” she said. “Apparently, that didn’t happen when it mattered most.”
Now, Boorn says she’s channeling her grief into action – hoping her uncle’s story will lead to better safety measures as she believes more needs to be done to improve protocols so this never happens again.
“People that do have family in there,” she said, “check on your family member because clearly they’re not doing it.”
In a statement, LifeStream at Sun City said:
“LifeStream at Sun City is deeply saddened by the passing of one of our residents. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to their family and loved ones during this difficult time.
“Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we are not sharing further details at this time. We extend our sincere gratitude to emergency responders for their compassion, professionalism, and support.”
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