Topline: Three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington face criminal negligence charges after surveillance video allegedly shows them ignoring a dying patient for more than 20 minutes.
Published: April 16, 2026 8:30 am ET
Randy Shaw
I cut my teeth in journalism when I began looking into what I saw as abuses of power in my local government. From then on, I was hooked on the dopamine rush of uncovering information.
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WASHINGTON D.C. — Three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington were indicted on criminal negligence charges after federal prosecutors say surveillance video shows them fist-bumping, chatting, and walking around a patient’s room while a 58-year-old man lay dying on a mattress on the floor — never calling for help, never checking his pulse, never attempting CPR.
Nelson Kuma, 37, and Richard Hounnou, 45, both former psychiatric counselors, and Norma Munoz-Bent, 68, a former registered nurse, were charged by a federal grand jury on March 31. All three were arraigned in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday, entered not-guilty pleas, and were released on their own recognizance. They are due back in court on May 29.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the indictments alongside U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who described in stark terms what investigators say was captured on hospital surveillance footage.
The case dates to April 26, 2020, at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington — the city’s only private, for-profit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital, a 130-bed facility operated by Universal Health Services. The victim, identified only by his initials G.W., was a patient under one-to-one care — a protocol requiring a staff member to monitor him continuously and conduct health checks every 15 minutes. He had suffered a medical emergency two days earlier, on April 24, and had to be resuscitated.
According to Pirro, at approximately 12:38 p.m. on April 26, G.W. began showing visible signs of labored breathing. He was lying naked on a mattress on the floor of his hospital room. A hospital tech entered, observed the distress, and took no action for four minutes.
A second tech then entered the room. The two men fist-bumped and engaged in what Pirro called “a very animated conversation” lasting roughly seven minutes — apparently indifferent to their patient. “It’s as though the patient on the floor, who was suffering from labored breathing, is not even there,” Pirro said at a news conference streamed by area media.
Approximately 10 minutes after G.W.’s distress became visible on camera, Munoz-Bent — the registered nurse assigned to the ward — walked into the room. She stared at the patient and put her hands on her hips. She did not touch him. She left after approximately one minute.
Prosecutors say staff members later attempted to check the patient’s blood, but the check was performed improperly. For at least 21 minutes, G.W. received no lifesaving measures. By the time proper resuscitation efforts were initiated, it was too late. He died inside the hospital.
“This trio did nothing to help this patient,” Pirro said. “They didn’t call a code blue, they didn’t check his pulse, they didn’t attempt CPR. They didn’t initiate resuscitation efforts. They did nothing. Instead, they chatted, they walked around, they didn’t touch him while he lay on a mattress — dying.”
The case had previously been investigated by Disability Rights D.C., which submitted a detailed report to D.C. Health. The report included sketches drawn from surveillance footage of the incident. The organization issued a statement after the indictments were announced, saying it “remains concerned about patient safety and adequate psychiatric treatment at Psychiatric Institute of Washington and continues to monitor the facility.” Disability Rights D.C. has completed two additional reports documenting alleged abuse and neglect at the hospital.
G.W.’s family has filed a civil lawsuit in his death. In court filings, both the Psychiatric Institute of Washington and its parent company, Universal Health Services, have denied the allegations against them.
The nearly six-year gap between the patient’s death and the criminal indictment remains unexplained. Pirro acknowledged that a prosecutor in her office had been tracking the case for years but declined to elaborate on why charges were not brought sooner. “The three had a legal and ethical duty to act and they chose not to,” she said, “and my office is not going to tolerate this.”
Under D.C. law, criminal negligence resulting in the death of a vulnerable person carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Three Former D.C. Psychiatric Hospital Workers Indicted After Video Shows Staff Fist-Bumped and Chatted While Patient Lay Dying
Three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington face criminal negligence charges after surveillance video allegedly shows them ignoring a dying patient for more than 20 minutes.
By Randy Shaw
Published: April 16, 2026 8:30 am ET
WASHINGTON D.C. — Three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington were indicted on criminal negligence charges after federal prosecutors say surveillance video shows them fist-bumping, chatting, and walking around a patient’s room while a 58-year-old man lay dying on a mattress on the floor — never calling for help, never checking his pulse, never attempting CPR.
Nelson Kuma, 37, and Richard Hounnou, 45, both former psychiatric counselors, and Norma Munoz-Bent, 68, a former registered nurse, were charged by a federal grand jury on March 31. All three were arraigned in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday, entered not-guilty pleas, and were released on their own recognizance. They are due back in court on May 29.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the indictments alongside U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who described in stark terms what investigators say was captured on hospital surveillance footage.
The case dates to April 26, 2020, at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington — the city’s only private, for-profit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital, a 130-bed facility operated by Universal Health Services. The victim, identified only by his initials G.W., was a patient under one-to-one care — a protocol requiring a staff member to monitor him continuously and conduct health checks every 15 minutes. He had suffered a medical emergency two days earlier, on April 24, and had to be resuscitated.
According to Pirro, at approximately 12:38 p.m. on April 26, G.W. began showing visible signs of labored breathing. He was lying naked on a mattress on the floor of his hospital room. A hospital tech entered, observed the distress, and took no action for four minutes.
A second tech then entered the room. The two men fist-bumped and engaged in what Pirro called “a very animated conversation” lasting roughly seven minutes — apparently indifferent to their patient. “It’s as though the patient on the floor, who was suffering from labored breathing, is not even there,” Pirro said at a news conference streamed by area media.
Approximately 10 minutes after G.W.’s distress became visible on camera, Munoz-Bent — the registered nurse assigned to the ward — walked into the room. She stared at the patient and put her hands on her hips. She did not touch him. She left after approximately one minute.
Prosecutors say staff members later attempted to check the patient’s blood, but the check was performed improperly. For at least 21 minutes, G.W. received no lifesaving measures. By the time proper resuscitation efforts were initiated, it was too late. He died inside the hospital.
“This trio did nothing to help this patient,” Pirro said. “They didn’t call a code blue, they didn’t check his pulse, they didn’t attempt CPR. They didn’t initiate resuscitation efforts. They did nothing. Instead, they chatted, they walked around, they didn’t touch him while he lay on a mattress — dying.”
The case had previously been investigated by Disability Rights D.C., which submitted a detailed report to D.C. Health. The report included sketches drawn from surveillance footage of the incident. The organization issued a statement after the indictments were announced, saying it “remains concerned about patient safety and adequate psychiatric treatment at Psychiatric Institute of Washington and continues to monitor the facility.” Disability Rights D.C. has completed two additional reports documenting alleged abuse and neglect at the hospital.
G.W.’s family has filed a civil lawsuit in his death. In court filings, both the Psychiatric Institute of Washington and its parent company, Universal Health Services, have denied the allegations against them.
The nearly six-year gap between the patient’s death and the criminal indictment remains unexplained. Pirro acknowledged that a prosecutor in her office had been tracking the case for years but declined to elaborate on why charges were not brought sooner. “The three had a legal and ethical duty to act and they chose not to,” she said, “and my office is not going to tolerate this.”
Under D.C. law, criminal negligence resulting in the death of a vulnerable person carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Three Former D.C. Psychiatric Hospital Workers Indicted After Video Shows Staff Fist-Bumped and Chatted While Patient Lay Dying
Three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington face criminal negligence charges after surveillance video allegedly shows them ignoring a dying patient for more than 20 minutes.
By Randy Shaw
Published: April 16, 2026 8:30 am ET
WASHINGTON D.C. — Three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington were indicted on criminal negligence charges after federal prosecutors say surveillance video shows them fist-bumping, chatting, and walking around a patient’s room while a 58-year-old man lay dying on a mattress on the floor — never calling for help, never checking his pulse, never attempting CPR.
Nelson Kuma, 37, and Richard Hounnou, 45, both former psychiatric counselors, and Norma Munoz-Bent, 68, a former registered nurse, were charged by a federal grand jury on March 31. All three were arraigned in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday, entered not-guilty pleas, and were released on their own recognizance. They are due back in court on May 29.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced the indictments alongside U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who described in stark terms what investigators say was captured on hospital surveillance footage.
The case dates to April 26, 2020, at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington — the city’s only private, for-profit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital, a 130-bed facility operated by Universal Health Services. The victim, identified only by his initials G.W., was a patient under one-to-one care — a protocol requiring a staff member to monitor him continuously and conduct health checks every 15 minutes. He had suffered a medical emergency two days earlier, on April 24, and had to be resuscitated.
According to Pirro, at approximately 12:38 p.m. on April 26, G.W. began showing visible signs of labored breathing. He was lying naked on a mattress on the floor of his hospital room. A hospital tech entered, observed the distress, and took no action for four minutes.
A second tech then entered the room. The two men fist-bumped and engaged in what Pirro called “a very animated conversation” lasting roughly seven minutes — apparently indifferent to their patient. “It’s as though the patient on the floor, who was suffering from labored breathing, is not even there,” Pirro said at a news conference streamed by area media.
Approximately 10 minutes after G.W.’s distress became visible on camera, Munoz-Bent — the registered nurse assigned to the ward — walked into the room. She stared at the patient and put her hands on her hips. She did not touch him. She left after approximately one minute.
Prosecutors say staff members later attempted to check the patient’s blood, but the check was performed improperly. For at least 21 minutes, G.W. received no lifesaving measures. By the time proper resuscitation efforts were initiated, it was too late. He died inside the hospital.
“This trio did nothing to help this patient,” Pirro said. “They didn’t call a code blue, they didn’t check his pulse, they didn’t attempt CPR. They didn’t initiate resuscitation efforts. They did nothing. Instead, they chatted, they walked around, they didn’t touch him while he lay on a mattress — dying.”
The case had previously been investigated by Disability Rights D.C., which submitted a detailed report to D.C. Health. The report included sketches drawn from surveillance footage of the incident. The organization issued a statement after the indictments were announced, saying it “remains concerned about patient safety and adequate psychiatric treatment at Psychiatric Institute of Washington and continues to monitor the facility.” Disability Rights D.C. has completed two additional reports documenting alleged abuse and neglect at the hospital.
G.W.’s family has filed a civil lawsuit in his death. In court filings, both the Psychiatric Institute of Washington and its parent company, Universal Health Services, have denied the allegations against them.
The nearly six-year gap between the patient’s death and the criminal indictment remains unexplained. Pirro acknowledged that a prosecutor in her office had been tracking the case for years but declined to elaborate on why charges were not brought sooner. “The three had a legal and ethical duty to act and they chose not to,” she said, “and my office is not going to tolerate this.”
Under D.C. law, criminal negligence resulting in the death of a vulnerable person carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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