SACRAMENTO– On Tuesday, October 22, a Sacramento Superior Court Judge found there is enough evidence in an elder abuse case to send the caregiver to trial on felony charges of elder abuse and involuntary manslaughter.

Silvia Cata, 53,  was arrested in February following the June 2012 death of Georgia Holzmeister, 88.  Holzmeister, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, lived in Cata’s “Super Home Care” facility for five years.  She was taken to the hospital with severe bedsores and died several days later. 

This case was investigated by special agents in the Department of Justice Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse.   The investigation revealed Holzmeister was neglected and suffered unjustifiable physical pain and great bodily injury resulting in her death.  

In a Declaration In Support of Arrest Warrant, CSLEA Member and Special Agent Tina Khang wrote:  “On June 19, 2012, Holzneister arrived via ambulance to the Emergency room at Sutter General Hospital, where hospital staff discovered a massive stage IV pressure wound on her coccyx.  Holzmeister was also diagnosed with sepsis.  Holzmeister never recovered from her wounds and was placed on comfort care.  She was discharged to Rosewood Terrace, a local area skilled nursing facility, where she died four days later, on June 23, 2012.”

“A judge determined, based on the work of special agents and the evidence presented in the preliminary  hearing, that this caregiver should go to trial,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “It’s a serious charge of involuntary manslaughter.  No one wants to see their elderly loved one mistreated or neglected to the point of severe injury or death.”

If convicted, Cata faces up to 12 years in prison.