KALAMAZOO, MI – The former director of nursing at Lakeside Academy was sentenced to probation Monday after the death of a student at the facility in April 2020.
Heather McLogan, 49, was sentenced to 18 months of probation for one felony count of third-degree child abuse before Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Gary Giguere. She accepted a plea deal July 29, in which the prosecutor agreed to dismiss charges of involuntary manslaughter and one felony charge of second-degree child abuse causing death at a childcare organization.
Related: Former nurse enters plea for child abuse in death student at Kalamazoo facility
McLogan can be sent to the Kalamazoo County Jail for up to 180 days if she fails to follow her probation.
“I feel horrible that this all happened,” McLogan said during the in-person sentencing as her voice cracked. “Cornelius should not have died. I’m very sorry.”
The charges stem from the death of Cornelius Fredricks, 16. He was placed in a 10-minute restraint that resulted in a lack of blood flow and oxygen on April 29, 2020. He never regained consciousness, and died of a heart attack May 1 at a Kalamazoo hospital.
It took 12 minutes before nurses and staff members began CPR and called 911, according to police body camera footage.
“Heather, I know you could have done more to help him,” said Fredricks’ aunt Tenia Goshay, in a written victim impact statement. “You did not once tell them to get off of him. When he was unresponsive you did not check his pulse until it was too late. In my eyes you are a disgrace to the nursing profession. I hope you see his face every time you close your eyes. I pray you never forget what you did or did not do.”
McLogan was the director of nursing at the now-shuttered Lakeside Academy. She was not among those physically restraining Fredricks, but her legal obligations meant she needed to stop it, according to the facts stated during her plea.
Related: ‘He didn’t move,’ says student who witnessed restraint of 16-year-old killed at Kalamazoo facility
Fredricks’ siblings will never be the same without him, and are suffering emotionally and physically, according to Goshay’s victim impact statement read by Kalamazoo County Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams.
Felicia Hill, Fredricks’ grandmother, was helping care for the teenager after his mother died.
“Due to this careless and unprofessional act, I failed my daughter expectations that I would care for her son, my grandson,” Hill said on live video during Monday’s court hearing, as part of her victim impact statement. “It weighs me down that I did not fail her because of me, but due to the hand of those that were supposed to protect him and provide a safe haven for him. More importantly, fight for him.”
The family was working to find a way for Fredricks to leave Lakeside Academy and go home prior to his death, Hill said.
“There is nothing in life that can justify the tragedy that occurred, nor will anything compensate for the pain I feel every day,” Goshay’s statement said. “I will never be the same again.”
Part of the plea deal says that, if needed, McLogan will testify against co-defendants Michael Mosley and Zachary Solis in their court proceedings. She has also testified in the civil lawsuit claiming wrongful death that was brought by Fredricks’ estate, Defense Attorney Anastase Markou said.
“She knew as a nurse she should have checked, even if it could not have made a difference,” Markou said. “Heather feels guilt in her role and what happened that day.”
Solis and Mosley were both physically involved in the restraint, and are charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree child abuse. The men are scheduled for status conferences Tuesday, Sept. 28, and were previously granted bond.
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