Negligent carer found guilty of manslaughter in hospital, delaying sentencing proceedings

A woman found guilty of manslaughter after her husband was found covered in lice before his death has ended up in hospital, delaying her sentence.

A woman found guilty of manslaughter after allowing her former partner to wallow covered in faeces and lice while he battled cancer has delayed her sentence proceedings after having to undergo emergency surgery.

Libby Jade Baker was last year found guilty of manslaughter after a NSW District Court judge found her criminally negligent for failing to provide proper care to Johnathan Young in the months leading up to his death.

Ms Baker was due to face a sentence hearing in the same court on Tuesday, but her lawyer told the court she was rushed to hospital over the weekend.

He said his client had to undergo “emergency surgery” for a fracture to her knee.

“The evidence shows Ms Baker is an inpatient … associated with an unforeseen event,” her defence barrister said.

Libby Baker is in hospital after she fractured her knee. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Bianca De Marchi

“As late as 5.30 yesterday, the information found it was unsafe for her to be discharged and she continues to be an inpatient this morning.”

Judge Deborah Sweeney allowed the hearing to be vacated as she “had no real choice to not proceed”.

Baker was last year found guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Young, who died on October 16, 2012 – 11 days after he was admitted to Hawkesbury Hospital weighing just 35.8kg and in a condition which alarmed nurses.

Mr Young, 58, spent five months in Baker’s care as he battled rectal and renal cancer and suffered three strokes in the nine months prior to his death.

When a community services worker visited her home in early October, she was overwhelmed by the smell of faeces and rotten flesh and that Mr Young’s skin was “hanging from his bones”, the court previously heard.

Medical personnel were shocked by his condition when he was admitted to hospital, with one nurse saying “he looked dead”, her trial heard.

Baker faced a judge-alone trial before Judge Sweeney and was last year found guilty of manslaughter.

Libby Baker was found guilty of manslaughter over the death of her former partner. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Bianca De Marchi

Judge Sweeney noted Baker had negligently breached her duty of care and failed to provide him with proper food, hygiene and medical attention which led to his death.

Baker could face up to 25 years in jail.

In 2018, a coronial inquest into Mr Young’s death was suspended without a finding and the matter was referred to the Department of Public Prosecutions before Baker was charged the following year.

The court previously heard Mr Young suffered an alarming weight loss leading up to his death, dropping from 62kg to 35kg in six months, with experts giving evidence it was not solely due to his cancer.

When Mr Young was admitted to hospital, his eyes were sunken and his body was covered in dark lesions, the court previously heard.

Nurses discovered lice all over his body, including in crawling balls under his armpits, and he had not been showered properly in weeks.

She will face a sentence hearing at a later date. Picture: NCA News Wire / Adam Yip

Healthcare workers observed he was severely malnourished with dried faeces all over his legs.

One nurse said she had “not ever seen anyone like that” and another said “he looked dead”.

When applying for a carer’s payment in March 2011, Baker told Centrelink she was volunteering to care for Mr Young because “I couldn’t let him go to a nursing home”.

The court heard evidence Baker was aware of her duties when he was discharged from hospital into her care on May 7, 2012 – including an obligation to seek medical help if she could not manage the task.

In handing down her judgment last year, Judge Sweeney said Baker had breached her duty of care.

“I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused’s omissions in not providing Mr Young with sufficient food and hygiene, pressure wound care and medical attention, which caused his death … involve a high degree of criminal negligence and merit criminal punishment,” she said.