No charges in death of Ballston Spa nursing home resident

Posted at: 01/14/2013 4:05 PM | Updated at: 01/14/2013 5:18 PM
By: AP

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BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (AP) - An 85-year-old man who died after being found outside the nursing home where he lived probably knew the security codes to open doors and let himself out.          

Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy says no criminal charges are warranted in the Dec. 22 death of Carlton Decker. Murphy says it appears Decker, who used a walker, let himself out of the nursing home in Ballston Spa, about 25 miles north of Albany.      

Officials initially said Decker left the room through the second floor window, dropped to a rooftop and then dropped to a courtyard. An autopsy disproved that theory and Murphy said such a scenario was difficult, if not impossible, given Decker's frail health. 

Decker was taken to a hospital where he died of a heart attack.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)





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