The woman died in 2018 after complications from breaking her hip, but before she died she accused fellow resident, Mario Amato, of pushing her over, the ACT Supreme Court heard this week.
Mario Amato, who is 61, pleaded not guilty at the hearing, according to reports by the ABC.
Video footage taken inside the Canberra aged care home was aired in court, and showed Capper being propelled through the doorway of the laundry and onto the floor.
Prosecutor Rebecca Christensen told the court that when staff came to Capper’s aid, she told them, “He did it, that man,” and gestured towards Mr Amato, according to the ABC report.
Prior to the incident, Amato and Capper were seen trying to enter the door code to get into the laundry. The court heard Capper was entering the laundry to iron a blouse.
A few moments after they entered the laundry, Capper can be seen on the video falling into the hallway, although how she was propelled in that direction can not be determined from the video.
The court will hear from a biomechanics expert, who prosecutors hope will determine it was more likely Capper was pushed than fell, according to the ABC.
Police intercepted phone calls from Amato, including calls in which he denied pushing her.
However, he also admitted he was worried about getting Capper out of the laundry and admitted to pushing the door closed.
Amato’s lawyer, John White, said Capper was suffering from dementia, leukaemia, glaucoma and advanced pancreatic cancer.
He said the issue to be determined is whether Amato’s actions substantially contributed to Capper’s death, the ABC has reported.
Christensen said she hoped to show Amato was responsible for the death, because she alleges he pushed her “with some force” and the fractured hip she sustained was the cause of her demise.
The trial is expected to be concluded by the end of next week.
If they have no actual video of that lady being pushed, I really doubt it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Regardless of her accusation. Many people accuse others of doing stuff they haven’t every day.
What diagnoses does the defendant have? If he also has dementia then there may be no case to answer. Unless the laws has changed (from my days working in Aged care) , if dementia patients were involved with “pushing / shoving” ,there was no case to answer as they could not be responsible for their ‘thought processes or actions’. Which I know sounds harsh. But their reasoning processes are not the same as those who do not have dementia.