Shove of one resident by another at assisted living center in Hugo being investigated as homicide

An assisted living center resident in Hugo was pushed by another resident and died in what officials are calling a homicide, according to court filings.

Linda S. Steen, 75, was shoved on March 11 at Good Life Senior Living and suffered a broken hip, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in search warrant affidavits filed this week that cleared the way for investigators to get copies of the residents’ medical records.

Steen was put in hospice care and died on March 30, the affidavits read.

Staff with the Medical Examiner’s Office watched video of Steen being shoved out of the other resident’s room and reviewed her medical records, the filing continued.

“Because of [the] short time between push and death,” one affidavit read, the cause of death was determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office to be homicide. A second affidavit filed Wednesday afternoon noted the 74-year-old resident’s push was intentional, but acknowledged the Steen “did not have the greatest balance due to [her having] Alzheimer’s” and an earlier fracture to a toe.

The later filing also pointed out that the resident who shoved Steen has been coping with dementia for the past 1½ years.

A spokeswoman for the County Attorney’s Office said there has been no arrest, and charges have yet to be filed. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.