Caregiver burned patient with lighter, blamed wasps
Background: The Assumption Parish Detention Center in Napoleonville, Louisiana (Google Maps). Inset: Markus Stadium (Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office).
A Louisiana health care worker is accused of burning a patient with a lighter and then misleading the victim’s family by claiming the injuries were caused by wasp stings, authorities say.
Markus Stadium, 36, has been charged with “cruelty to the infirmed,” the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday. The alleged abuse reportedly took place earlier this month at a health care facility in Assumption Parish, west of New Orleans.
According to investigators, Stadium, who worked as a healthcare attendant at the facility, told the victim’s family that the injuries were the result of wasp bites. The family reportedly became suspicious due to the severity and repeated nature of the injuries.
On Oct. 6, the health care facility contacted the sheriff’s office after concerns arose that the patient may have been abused. Investigators learned from medical personnel that the victim had been burned multiple times, with evidence suggesting the burns were caused by a barbecue-style lighter.
Authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Stadium, who turned himself in to the Assumption Parish Detention Center on Tuesday. He is being held on a $1 million bond.
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