In Ohio, a tragic incident unfolded when an 84-year-old woman left a nursing home through an exit door that locked behind her, resulting in her death from exposure to the cold. This event has led to criminal charges against a nurse at the facility who allegedly lacked proper training, according to a lawsuit.

The woman, Alvera Meuti, was living at the Avenue at Warrensville Care and Rehabilitation Center in Cleveland when she went missing from her room on the night of December 23, 2024. Her family has filed a lawsuit in Cuyahoga County, detailing the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

Amber Henderson, a nurse at the center, is facing a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter related to Meuti’s death. The family’s lawsuit names Henderson and the rehabilitation facility as defendants, accusing them of neglecting to report Meuti’s absence and failing to provide adequate supervision.

The complaint states, “At 9:30 p.m. on December 23, 2024, Henderson checked Alvera’s room and found it empty. No report was filed, nor were any efforts made to find Alvera,” it continues. “Further checks or notifications to her family, which were necessary, did not take place.”

According to the family, an exit door near Meuti’s room was “left unlocked” and lacked a keypad or alarm system. Such safety measures “should have been in place” to prevent a resident from leaving unnoticed, the lawsuit claims.

The complaint further describes that on December 24, 2024, Alvera was discovered on a patio outside the facility, close to where she had exited. The door had locked behind her, leaving her unable to get back inside. “Alvera died from hypothermia after being exposed to the cold,” the document states.

In a March 2025 press release, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office described how Henderson “assumed Alvera left the facility with her family and continued her shift.” It wasn’t until three hours later that she allegedly began thinking something happened.

“Later that night, around 12:36 a.m., after not seeing Alvera, Henderson attempted to call Alvera’s family to check if she was with them,” the press release said. “The family did not answer, and Henderson continued her shift. The next morning, around 6:30 a.m., Henderson told her supervisor she had not seen Alvera her entire shift, and a ‘Code Purple’ was called.”

The Warrensville Heights Police Department was called to the facility and around 8 a.m., “other nurses” found Alvera outside on the patio “lying on her back,” according to the prosecutor’s office. She was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead upon her arrival.

An investigation by WHPD later revealed that Henderson was allegedly not qualified to work at the nursing home and the facility was not properly secured.

“Every new nurse receives four weeks of training — which includes what to do if a resident is missing. It is also required for the nurses to check the residents every two hours,” the prosecutor’s office said. “Throughout the course of her shift, Henderson falsified completing several tasks that were required to be administered to Alvera. In addition, every door should have a keypad and be locked. There was an unlocked door near Alvera’s room that led to a staircase and the patio where Alvera was found. The door locks from the outside, making it impossible for Alvera to go back inside.”

Meuti’s family members blame her injuries and death on Henderson and the nursing home’s “failure to ensure that the facility was properly staffed and that the facility was properly secured to protect and meet the needs of its residents.” They allege that the center has a history of “inadequately staffing and/or training its employees” at the expense of its residents’ care, which ultimately led to what happened to Meuti.

“The lack of staff, training, and keeping the facility properly secured resulted in Alvera not being checked on, her absence not being promptly addressed, leaving the facility through an unlocked door, and not being able to re-enter the facility which caused Alvera’s injury and resulted to her freezing to death,” the family’s complaint concludes.

Henderson’s criminal case has a pretrial hearing set for Jan. 27. She has pleaded not guilty, with her lawyer telling local Fox affiliate WJW, “She did nothing wrong. I will vigorously defend her.”

Lawyers and representatives for Avenue at Warrensville Care and Rehabilitation Center could not be reached for comment on Sunday by Law&Crime. They told WJW they had no comment when reached last week.