Rebecca Zeni was 93 years old when she passed away in 2015. The cause of her death wasn't revealed until recently, when it was uncovered by a forensic pathologist that she was "eaten alive" by scabies that infested the Georgia nursing home where she resided.
Rebecca's family moved her into the Shepherd Hills Nursing Home in 2010 after she was diagnosed with dementia. The state health officials were made away of the scabies outbreak at the nursing home. However, there was nothing done about it.
The official autopsy report for Rebecca read that she died from "septicemia due to crusted scabies." The pathologist who worked on Rebecca's case suggested that she could have been suffering from this for a long period.
What Are Scabies?
Scabies is described as an infestation of the skin by a human itch mite. The scabies mite gets in the upper layer of the skin where it will live and lay eggs. If a person has never suffered from scabies before, it could take four to six weeks before the person begins to exhibit symptoms of the infestation. If a person has had scabies in the past, symptoms can begin in one to four days.
Symptoms of being infested with scabies include intense itching all over the body and a rash that can cause tiny blisters.
Rebecca's Justice
Rebecca modeled in New York. She also worked for a television station in Chicago and was employed at the naval yard.
The pathologist who was hired to study Rebecca's autopsy, Dr. Kris Sperry, stated that Rebecca's was the most "horrendous" autopsy he'd ever had to work on. Sperry continued that he believed at least hundreds of thousands of mites were "living" inside of Rebecca and that she more than likely suffered a painful death.
"Having seen what I've seen with Ms. Zeni, I think that is frankly a good characterization. I would seriously consider calling this a homicide by neglect," Sperry stated.
The Georgia Department of Public Health were notified of the scabies outbreak in the nursing home in 2013 and in 2015. Reportedly 35 people, including the staff, were exposed to the infestation but never conducted an inspection on the facility. The department only sent the nursing home information on scabies and how to treat it.
Pictures that were taken of Rebecca's hand showed her blackened and flaky skin. Rebecca's family is now suing Pruitt Health, which is the company that ran the nursing home she stayed in.
