Alabama health worker arrested after video showed her poking dead body, opening lifeless eye and smiling

Published 2:05 pm Friday, September 4, 2020

A woman was charged with corpse abuse after video showed a health care worker mistreating the body of a deceased resident at an assisted living facility, police said.

Ashley Mishay Williams, 23, of Bay Minette surrendered to police on Thursday and was charged with the felony, the Daphne Police Department said in a statement.

The arrest came after a video shared on social media showed a worker poking the body of a dead resident and opening an eye of the body while smiling at the camera at The Brennity, an assisted living facility in Daphne. The incident was reported to police on Aug. 18.

In a post on its Facebook page, The Brennity said a worker had recorded a “highly inappropriate video at our community.” Sagora Senior Living, which owns the facility, said it cooperated with police and the employee no longer works there.

Court records were not available to show whether Williams had an attorney to speak on her behalf. No one responded to a text message sent to a cellphone listed in her name on documents.