DA won’t charge man, 92, who police say caused death of woman, 80, in Mt. Lebanon senior facility

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office is calling the death of an elderly woman who was pushed by a 92-year-old resident with dementia at a Mt. Lebanon senior living facility a homicide, but authorities say no charges will be filed.

Joan Sterling died July 27 after an “an elderly male resident” pushed her to the ground on June 11, causing her to break her hip, Jim Madalinsky, an Allegheny County police spokesman, said.

The incident happened in a common area with staff present, Madalinsky said.

Sterling, 80, died from blunt impact injuries to her neck and hip, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Sterling, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, had resided in the Asbury Heights senior living facility’s memory care unit for five years, her niece, Carole Salvato, said Thursday. The man who pushed her lived in the same unit, she said.

Prosecutors decided against filing charges after consulting with county police, according to Rebecca Spangler, the DA’s chief of staff.

Spangler said the man who pushed Sterling has dementia and “is not competent. Thus, we would be unable to establish intent, and the actor would not be competent to proceed to trial.”

Salvato said she did not believe the man had any ill intent, nor does she blame the facility on Bower Hill Road for the incident.

She said she was surprised when she received a call from the medical examiner’s office Wednesday informing her that her aunt’s death would be listed as a homicide.

Mt. Lebanon police requested assistance from county detectives after the incident, Madalinsky said.

Madalinsky has previously explained that a homicide ruling is “a standard manner of death determination indicating the death was caused by the actions of another individual” and “not a declaration of criminal guilt.”

Asbury Heights Executive Director Holly Villella declined to comment.

Sterling grew up in Mt. Lebanon and spent more than three decades in the Pittsburgh Public Schools system, according to her obituary.

She started as a classroom teacher before becoming the principal of the North Side’s Conroy Education Center, a special education facility for students who require life skills support, autistic support and multiple disability support needs.