Incapacitated woman's family reacts after she gives birth at care facility

WTVD-AP
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Police investigating after woman in nursing home gives birth
Police investigating after woman in nursing home gives birth

PHOENIX, Arizona -- Two Phoenix doctors are out of a job and the family of an incapacitated woman who gave birth at a care facility after she was sexually assaulted are speaking out

In a statement made through an attorney, the family clarified that the woman is not in a coma but does have "significant intellectual disabilities as a result of seizures very early in her childhood."

According to the family, the woman responds to sounds and is able to make facial gestures.

The statement said the woman does not speak, but has some ability to move her limbs, head, and neck.

"The important thing is that she is a beloved daughter, albeit with significant intellectual disabilities," it said. "She has feelings, likes to be read to, enjoys soft music, and is capable of responding to people she is familiar with, especially family."

This comes just days after Hacienda HealthCare announced that two doctors who cared for the woman are no longer working at the long-term care center.

The center said Sunday that one had resigned and the other had been suspended.

The victim, who is in her 20s, had been in Hacienda's care since she became incapacitated at the age of 3 after suffering a near-drowning.

She gave birth Dec. 29.

The sexual assault triggered a police investigation and reviews by regulators.

Investigators gathered DNA from men who worked there.

Hacienda CEO Bill Timmons resigned after news surfaced of the assault.