BELLEVILLE, Mich. – New questions are emerging regarding the death of a woman inside a Belleville group home.
The family has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the company that ran the home, alleging 71-year-old Bertha Jones slowly starved to death over two and a half months.
Charlene Jones is Bertha Jone’s niece. She is suing the Hoeft House in Belleville, where her aunt was living.
Bertha Jones was blind, deaf and unable to speak. She required constant care. The family’s attorney said she weighed 75 pounds when she died.
Jones died on May 2, 2022. In the lawsuit, her family said her official cause of death was protein-calorie malnutrition -- meaning she starved to death.
“She starved to death, as verified by investigation that the death was due to group home neglect,” family attorney Albert Dib said.
Charlene Jones visited often last year and noticed that her aunt’s health was rapidly deteriorating.
“I am constantly complaining, telling them this does not sit right. I was told nothing has changed,” she said.
The Detroit Wayne Integrated Health System investigated and found neglect. Hoeft House dropped its state license as a group home and was operating as a room and board home.
Loren Glover with the disabled advocacy group ARC Detroit said Bertha Jones needed constant care, and operating without state oversight is a major problem.
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