Carer sentenced to six years' jail for

manslaughter

27 March 2022 An Adelaide disability support worker has been jailed for more than six years for committing one of the most serious examples of manslaughter by criminal neglect South Australia has ever seen that killed NDIS client Ann Marie Smith. While Rosa Marie Maione, 70, will be eligible for parole in five years and three months, she is expected to be deported to Italy upon her release from prison where she will be an “elderly woman” and “alone in a foreign country”. Ms Smith lived a quiet, isolated life before she became the victim of Maione’s gross criminal neglect. During sentencing, Justice Anne Bampton said her death was preventable. “It is clear the care of Ann Smith was compromised from the time you became her sole support worker,” Justice Bampton said. “Whilst Ms Smith’s autonomous position has to be respected, she required the involvement of her service provider Integrity Care and health providers. “You had absolutely no insight into Ms Smith’s physical condition leading up to her death — your incompetence, lack of training, lack of assertiveness … produced an environment where you failed to provide appropriate care. Ms Smith’s mother was her primary carer until her death some years before her daughter’s. The 54-year-old had become “totally dependent” on Maione, who was paid under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to provide six hours care per day to Ms Smith, seven days a week, plus an additional two hours for cleaning and shopping. The court heard that Maione knew she was “incapable” of caring for Ms Smith, but she never sought help. Ms Smith died from multiple organ failure from an untreated pressure sore. She was also dehydrated and malnourished.

Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia