Death of Elderly Mother Due to Arsenic Death Causes Daughter to File Suit

Fresno, CAThe death of an elderly Fresno mother is causing quite a stir after she has been found to have died from arsenic poisoning. Lily Mae Harmon's death was investigated only after the prompting and pleading of her daughter, Betty Harmon. She was ignored and put off several times when she tried to bring this to the attention of city agencies.

Betty is suing several city agencies along with Community Regional Medical Center and the Beverly Living Center convalescent hospital. This is where the nursing home abuse and personal injury leading to death took place. Lily Mae Harmon's death happened during December, 2004. It has taken this long for an investigation to be completed. Betty had to use her own money to launch an investigation into the death of her mother regarding the nursing homes abuse and personal injury incident.

Several unexplained ATM withdrawals from her Lily Mae's account were completed both before and after her death. Also, Betty is upset because she asked the County Coroner's Office on two occasions to investigate more deeply into the death of her mother. Both times they denied her wishes to investigate further with the help of exhumation and autopsies. She feels her rights as a citizen in the county have been completely ignored and stepped upon. The lawsuit will also put to task law enforcement officials and the coroner's office as well. Fresno County Superior Court is where the lawsuit has been filed as of last week.

Betty Harmon is very distraught over the fact that she had to investigate her own mother's death as well as use her own resources to do so. It has been a distressing matter for her to not have the backing of city officials in regards to the matter. She feels nobody else should have to go through this ordeal. She employed a private investigator to see who was responsible for all of the unknown ATM withdrawals. A person who had been a neighbor of Lily Mae Harmon's was arrested for theft charges. Had Betty not launched the investigation Theresa Centeno wouldn't have been brought to justice. Centeno is one of the parties named in the lawsuit as well. She had cared for Lily Mae Harmon in an informal manner for a period of time as well. Ms. Centeno has pleaded no contest to all charges and wrongdoing. She has received a 90 day jail stay and five years probation for the incident.

More than $12,000 was spent by Betty Harmon to have her mother's body exhumed and sent to Nebraska for an autopsy during September, 2006. The Nebraska coroner found the results of the arsenic in March 2007 and forwarded the case onward to Fresno officials. The Attorney General's Office formally requested that Fresno investigate Lily Mae Harmon's death as a homicide case. Many of the agencies have declined comment at this time. The lawsuit is still pending within the Fresno court system at this time.

By Delsia Hartford