MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A 71-year-old Clinton Township woman died Feb. 9, three days after she was slapped and fell while working at a group home in Macomb Township, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Now a 54-year-old resident of the group home faces a 2nd degree murder charge.
Mary Lou Potter was a direct care worker at the group home. According to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, she was slapped by a resident at the home and died from an illness just days later at a hospital.
Her fiance, Richard Mason, said he noticed a drastic change in Potter's behavior after the Feb. 9 incident.
"I heard a thump and I went upstairs and she was lying on the floor," he said. "I helped her back in bed and I came back downstairs and about 15-20 minutes later I heard another thump. I went upstairs and she was on the floor at the bottom of the bed."
She died the next day at the hospital.
After an investigation by the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office and the Sheriff's Office, charges were brought against a 54-year-old man who was a resident at the group home.
Charlie Weskalnies was arraigned on a 2nd degree murder charge Thursday in 41-A District Court. He was given a personal bond and court was adjourned pending a competency exam.