Body camera footage has been released in the case of two Illinois EMTs charged with first-degree murder following the death of a 35-year-old patient in their care.
This is not the first high-profile case of charges filed against EMS providers in recent years. In “Malpractice or murder: When do EMS providers cross the line from negligence to crime?”, Page, Wolfberg & Wirth attorneys Doug Wolfberg, Esq., and Steve Wirth, Esq., break down the facts of the case and the important lessons to be learned for EMS professionals nationwide, and explain why bodycam footage carries substantial weight in determining criminal charges. The two also discuss how a guilty verdict comes down to a “guilty state of mind.”
Are first-degree murder charges warranted in this case? Should EMS providers be protected from criminal charges when caring for patients? Share your thoughts with us at editor@ems1.com to be included in our ongoing coverage of this case.
By Leila Merrill
EMS1
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The two Lifestar EMS employees who were charged with first-degree murder in connection with a patient’s death appeared in court Monday for a bond reduction hearing.
EMS providers Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan appeared in court over Zoom, NewsChannel20 reported. They are currently being held at the Sangamon County Jail.
Finley’s attorney, Scott Hanken, filed another bond reduction motion last week. During Monday’s hearing, he asked the court for a new bond reduction.
A judge denied the first request in February to lower each provider’s bond, according to the State Journal-Register.
Cadigan’s attorney, Justin Kuehn, said he does not plan to file another motion to have his client’s bond reduced.
Each bond remains $1 million.
Hanken also said that he wants statements from the deceased patient’s family attorney removed from the trial record, the news outlet reported. He said that the attorney made a victim impact statement at the Feb. 6 hearing and that the statement should be removed from the record because there hasn’t been a trial or sentencing.
There is a court hearing on the wrongful death lawsuit filed against Finley, Cadigan and LifeStar scheduled for Wednesday.
The next bond reduction hearing for Finley is set for April 5. Both sides will make their cases then.
A pretrial date for both EMS providers is scheduled for May 1.
The patient, Earl Moore Jr., died on Dec. 18 after being transported by Cadigan and Finley from his home to St. John’s Hospital. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allman said Moore died from compressional and positional asphyxia, which was a result of being placed face down on a stretcher with straps tightened across his back.
Watch bodycam footage from the incident below: