A former nursing supervisor at Bickford Health Care Center is expected to appear before a judge at Hartford Superior Court, where he could enter a plea to charges of criminally negligent homicide and tampering with physical evidence tied to the February death of 93-year-old resident Margaret “Peggy” Healey. Papy Bibo was on duty the night Healey wandered out of the Windsor Locks facility into subzero temperatures and did not survive.
Healey got out of her room and left the building at about 1:50 a.m. on February 8, according to nhregister.com, which reported she was missing for more than three hours before being found. Accounts of exactly when staff discovered her differ: NBC Connecticut reported she was found lying in the snow at 5:07 a.m., while the outlet separately reported that, according to court documents, staff did not find her until 5:11 a.m. Either way, police say she had been outside for roughly three hours and 17 minutes.
What happened next is central to the case against Bibo. Police said Bickford employees waited hours before calling 911 after finding Healey in the snow, and NBC Connecticut reported that Bibo did not call 911 until 6:23 a.m., more than an hour after she was discovered. An arrest warrant cited by WFSB alleges Bibo told employees, “I'm not calling 911 because we will all go to prison.”
Cause of Death Confirmed Months Later
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined in May that Healey died of hypothermia due to environmental exposure, the station reported. Healey, a Waterbury native, had been a resident at the Windsor Locks facility before her death, according to nhregister.com's reporting.
Court records reviewed by the outlet also describe Bibo's background: he was a registered nurse hired by Bickford despite having previously faced sexual assault charges involving a minor, charges on which he was never convicted. Under state law, a conviction — not merely a charge — is required to disqualify someone from working in a nursing home.
Release Conditions and License Suspension
Bibo has been out on bond for months. He was released on a $25,000 surety bond and had previously appeared in Hartford Superior Court in August, according to WTNH. A judge approved release conditions that included close supervision and a bar on patient-care work, as reported by Western Mass News. NBC Connecticut's earlier report specified the order barred him from any caregiving job whatsoever, and noted his nursing license had been suspended while the investigation continued.
A certified nursing assistant at Bickford, identified in court-related reporting as Uchenna Obi, was also charged in connection with Healey's death. Obi faces charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence, and is accused of not finishing her rounds and not checking on her patients that night, according to WTNH. Obi has appeared in court but has not entered a plea.
A Facility With a History of Violations
Bickford Health Care Center had been cited multiple times in recent years for violations jeopardizing patient safety, and since late 2024 had been collectively fined more than $78,000 by state and federal agencies, according to ctinsider.com. Medicare rated the facility one star out of five overall, describing it as “much below average,” and federal inspectors had found water temperatures as high as 142 degrees in at least one bathroom during a November inspection, the outlet reported.
The state health department separately cited Bickford for failing to notify police within 15 minutes after a resident went missing and for inadequate supervision of a resident identified as a wandering risk, ctinsider.com reported in a follow-up article. By March 31, all patients had been transferred out of the facility and it had closed, according to Connecticut Public.
Bibo's upcoming appearance comes months after his initial arrest, with the criminally negligent homicide and evidence-tampering charges still pending against him. Obi's case also remains open. Both proceedings are being handled through Hartford Superior Court as part of the broader fallout from Healey's death and the state's subsequent order closing the Windsor Locks facility.
