By AP / KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A state investigation has found that workers at the state-run Bellefontaine Habilitation Center in St. Louis made a series of missteps before a mentally retarded man died.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services began investigating the deathe of George Holmes after hearing allegations of abuse at the center.
The 33-year-old Holmes died August 3, just hours after he called his stepmother to complain that workers were abusing him.
The St. Louis medical examiner ruled that Holmes died after extreme agitation made his heart stop. No criminal charges have been filed.
The state report cites instances of workers accused of beating, choking and slapping residents. In many of those cases, the report says, the center officials failed to fully investigate the allegations or did not investigate at all.