Trials against former nursing home employees pushed to 2017

BROWNSVILLE - Trials for three former Edmonson Center Nursing Home employees accused of abusing residents have been rescheduled.

Jerry Snyder, Kayla Kinser and Kelly Duvall appeared Thursday in Edmonson Circuit Court for pretrial conferences in their cases.

Trials for all three defendants had been scheduled for Nov. 3, but Edmonson Circuit Judge Ronnie Dortch ordered the cases be reset for trial on Feb. 23.

Snyder, 32, of Leitchfield, is charged with 14 counts of first-degree criminal abuse (adult), 14 counts of fourth-degree assault, 14 counts of knowingly abusing/neglecting an adult and two counts of second-degree wanton endangerment.

Kinser, 24, of Leitchfield, is charged with four counts of first-degree criminal abuse (adult), two counts of second-degree wanton endangerment, four counts of knowingly abusing/neglecting an adult and one count of fourth-degree assault.

Duvall, 51, of Sweeden, faces four counts of first-degree criminal abuse (adult), two counts of second-degree wanton endangerment, four counts of knowingly abusing/neglecting an adult and four counts of fourth-degree assault.

The indictments against the three former employees resulted from a Kentucky State Police investigation into allegations of abuse that occurred between August 2013 and February 2014, and two residents are identified as victims in court records.

Lawsuits against Edmonson Center, former Edmonson Center administrator Carolyn Torrance and the nursing home's parent company, Genesis Healthcare, were filed on behalf of the alleged victims, who accuse the defendants of negligence and other counts. Those cases are pending in Edmonson Circuit Court.

The Kentucky Office of the Inspector General completed an inspection of the nursing home in August 2014 after fielding a complaint from an employee.

The inspection generated a report in which three former Edmonson Center employees, who are not named in the report, are alleged to have subjected residents to abuse that included pinching their breasts and noses, putting soap into a resident's mouth, dropping a naked resident into bed, slapping a resident and putting a gloved finger into a resident's mouth.

- Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.