Massachusetts woman dies after having to be surgically removed from cockroach-infested mattress

A Massachusetts grandmother has died after tragically being found fused to a mattress infested with cockroaches, bedbugs, and feces in her home.

Dinora Cardoso, 79, died after having to be surgically detached from the rancid mattress, with her daughter, granddaughter, and nurse being accused of severe neglect.

The woman died in hospital two days after being removed from the mattress she’d become adhered to, having suffered from the flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis, and sepsis due to infected ulcers, officials revealed.

First responders had been called to the house after Dinora’s daughter, 53-year-old Eva Fontes Cardoso, had called an ambulance, but medics were unable to separate the woman from the mattress where she lay

Eva Fontes Cardoso, 53, Kayla Cardoso, 31, & Lisa Hamilton, 64, of #Massachusetts, face charges of manslaughter, caregiver neglect of an elder, larceny, & Medicaid fraud in the death of 79-year-old Dinora Cardoso

On May 17, 2023, first responders found Dinora Cardoso covered in… pic.twitter.com/RxCweZQ9Cl

— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) November 24, 2024

Eva, along with Dinora’s granddaughter Kayla Cardoso, 31, and nurse Lisa Hamilton, 64, are facing charges of manslaughter, caregiver neglect of an elder, larceny, and Medicaid fraud in connection with Dinora’s death.

Dinora’s daughter had received up to $140,000 for caring for her mother, according to Law & Crime, but allowed her diabetes to go completely unmonitored, and left the elderly woman alone for weeks as insects began to infest the fetid bed.

Dinora had to be transported to the hospital with the mattress still attached to her, before she was able to be separated from it, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced in a press release.

Just a week before the call was made to the ambulance service, Lisa, who is a registered nurse, had reported that Dinora was “clean, well cared for, alert, and her diabetes was well-controlled,” according to prosecutors.

They added: “She made no mention of pressure ulcers, feces, bedbugs, or cockroaches.”

Dinora had to be transported to the hospital with the mattress before it could be removed from her body. Credit: JazzIRT/Getty Images

Lisa had been responsible for visiting Dinora at least once per week to check on her care, medical conditions, and medication intake, the press release confirmed.

Eva had been employed as her mother’s personal care attendant (PCA) while her niece Kayla served as her grandmother’s health care proxy and PCA Program Surrogate, according to the Mirror US.

As well as the severe neglect the trio is accused of subjecting Dinora to, they are also accused of fraud after allegedly billing MassHealth for services that were never provided, including claims for services supposedly undertaken while Dinora was in hospital.

The three women are also accused of charging for services posthumously, according to prosecutors, while bank records allegedly show that Eva regularly gave some of her PCA cheque to Kayla.

Eva allegedly received over $140,000 from MassHealth for her PCA care of Dinora, while officials added that Lisa’s report about the patient’s condition contradicted EMT and hospital records, which showed that Dinora’s diabetes was completely uncontrolled and that the infestation of insects in her bed would have been present for at least many weeks before the medics were called out, an an expert entomologist confirmed.

A grand jury indicted the three women on November 19, and they were arrested and arraigned on November 22. They are due in court on January 15.

Featured image credit: thenakedsnail/Getty Images