Charges of homicide are being requested against a staff member at a northern Wisconsin camp for disabled adults. Burnett County sheriff Dean Roland says the staffer gave an anti-psychotic drug, intended for someone else, to a mentally disabled camper. Shirley Meade died after taking the drug. Roland says no steps were taken to get Meade medical attention, even after the medication mistake had been discovered.
"The decisions that took place the remainder of the day compounded the situation, which ultimately led to the accidental death of Miss Meade," says Roland. Meade, a 49 year-old Twin Cities resident, died at the Trade Lake Camp in Grantsburg on July 18. Charges are of first-degree reckless homicide are sought against Peggy Hjelseth, daughter of the camp's founder. The camp is the same one where Keith Kennedy vanished for a week in mid-June, surviving in the nearby woods despite his autism. Roland says prior to this summer, his department has had no concerns with the camp.