ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 26, 1997 TAG: 9704280083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Failure to supervise residents was just one of the violations found at an adult care center before this week's murder-suicide.
The adult care center where three people were found shot to death this week had lost its operating license in January after state regulators said it ignored repeated citations for violations.
The Virginia Department of Social Services cited a ``pattern of serious, repetitive, frequent and willful violations'' when it denied Kensington Gardens' request to have its license renewed. The adult care facility has continued to operate while appealing its case to the department.
On Tuesday, brothers Paul and Marc Nikolajevic and Paul Nikolajevic's girlfriend, Lisa Goldberg, were found dead in an apartment at the complex. Police said Marc Nikolajevic killed his brother and his brother's girlfriend, then shot himself.
Originally licensed as an adult care center in 1984, Kensington Gardens is home to 270 people, many of whom are elderly or mentally disabled. Other residents maintain a mostly independent lifestyle with some assistance.
The center, owned by Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware Avenue Partners, has been the subject of complaints including unsanitary conditions, failure to properly supervise residents, patient abuse and failure to maintain proper medication records, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
In 1995, state officials found that a Kensington Gardens staff member struck a demented resident repeatedly while another staff member watched and failed to intervene until questioned the next morning, the newspaper said.
In other incidents, an amputee's pain medication was allowed to run out, forcing staff members to borrow medication from another resident, and the body of a resident who committed suicide went undiscovered for three days.
Carolynne H. Stevens, director of Social Services' division of licensing programs, wrote in a Jan.8 letter that Kensington Gardens had failed to correct shortcomings found during investigations of complaints.
On Feb.24, she wrote that the violations persisted.
Michael Mervis, a spokesman for the partnership, said the company is addressing the violations cited in the letter and optimistic that its appeal and response will be accepted.
Social Services spokesman Martin D. Brown said the department could not comment while the appeal in pending.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB