The former owner of The Manse on Marsh has lost his appeal seeking to overturn his conviction in connection with the death of a resident.
In December 2018, a jury found Christopher Skiff guilty of involuntary manslaughter and elderly and dependent adult abuse for the death of Manse on Marsh resident Mauricio Edgar Cardenas. He was sentenced to five years of probation and 180 days in county jail.
Cardenas was hit and killed by a car in December of 2014. The 65-year-old suffered from dementia and apparently wandered off, ending up 10 miles away from the elderly care facility. The Manse on Marsh did not have a dementia care plan but accepted Cardenas anyway.
In its denial of Skiff's appeal, the Second Appellate District Court wrote, "If 'the facility is not appropriate for the resident,' it should have evicted him," and "There was substantial evidence that Skiff failed to take sufficient steps to monitor [Cardenas's] safety despite knowledge of the dangers presented."
The residential care facility is now under new ownership and the name has been changed to Avila Senior Living.
