A former New Castle personal care administrator is headed to prison after prosecutors said she failed to renew a resident’s anti-seizure medication, a lapse that led to the man’s fatal seizure in December 2021. Kelly R. Gonzales, 50, received a sentence of up to three years and was ordered to pay $5,093 in restitution, authorities said. The case has intensified scrutiny on small personal-care homes that are responsible for chronically ill and disabled residents.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General says a jury found Gonzales guilty in February 2026 on felony counts of neglect of a care-dependent person and endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person after testimony showed the resident went more than 10 days without the prescription. According to the Office of Attorney General, colleagues had urged Gonzales to take the resident to an emergency room to refill the medication, but she did not. The AG’s release said sentencing had been scheduled for May 21 following the February conviction.
Sentence, Restitution And Professional Ban
Information shared by District Attorney Dave Sunday says Gonzales was sentenced to up to three years in prison, was ordered to pay $5,093 in restitution, and is prohibited from serving in a personal-care capacity while on supervision. WPXI reported the DA's statement about the sentence and the supervisory ban.
Criminal documents and the autopsy presented at trial showed the victim’s anti-seizure medication levels were well below therapeutic levels when he died, and prosecutors say Gonzales later altered records to indicate the prescription had been discontinued. As reported by CBS Pittsburgh, state officials called the death preventable and said the case highlights the responsibility caregivers take on when they accept vulnerable residents.
Legal Context
Neglect of a care-dependent person that results in serious bodily injury or death can be charged as a first-degree felony under Pennsylvania law, a designation that carries substantially higher penalties than the sentence imposed in this case. The elements of the offense and the statutory penalties are set out in the state code, which also gives both district attorneys and the attorney general authority to prosecute such violations, per the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. The AG's office handled the prosecution and named Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher R. Sherwood and Deputy Attorney General Peter Caravello on the case.
“This was, pure and simple, a catastrophic failure of duty to protect and care for a patient whose life depended on prescription medication,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a press release, again calling the death preventable. The sentence follows charges filed in late 2023 and a jury conviction in February, and it has renewed questions locally about oversight and record-keeping at personal-care homes in Lawrence County.
