LOUISVILLE, KY. – On Friday July 29, 2016, Attorney General Andy Beshear and Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas B. Wine announced the guilty plea and sentencing of David T. Satterfield Jr., 36, for a 2007 murder.
In 2007, Satterfield was employed as a certified medical technician through an employment agency at Parkway Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (previously named Parkway Medical Center) in Louisville. While working at Parkway, Satterfield intentionally injected Parkway resident Marcelline Vale with insulin. Vale, who had no medical reason for the insulin, died as a result of the injection.
Satterfield also acknowledged in his plea that he injected two other patients with insulin and that he had no medical reason to do so.
“The actions taken by the caregiver in this case are incomprehensible and immoral,” Beshear said. “We must take every step necessary to protect our most vulnerable citizens and prosecute their abusers to the fullest extent of the law.”
Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman sentenced Satterfield to a term of 25 years in prison. Under Kentucky law, Satterfield will not be eligible for parole until he serves 85 percent of the sentence or 20 years, whichever date comes first.
This case was prosecuted by the Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and investigated by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse and the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Beshear said he appreciates the work of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Department of Community Based Services and the cabinet’s Office of the Inspector General for their work on this case.
“This prosecution is the perfect example of cooperative efforts between law enforcement agencies such as the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and local police departments in protecting the most vulnerable members of our society,” Wine said.
To report instances of elder abuse or fraud, contact the Office of the Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division hotline at 877-228-7384. Upon taking office, Attorney General Beshear expanded the hotline to operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
