Criminal charges will not be filed against the developmentally disabled man who is believed to have fatally injured caregiver Barbara “Bobbie” Kolada Feb. 20, according to the Jackson County District Attorney’s office.

A lack of evidence at the scene, combined with the man’s mental deficiencies and nonverbal status, led to the decision, Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Lull stated, even though it was “likely he was the cause” of Kolada’s devastating injuries.

The focus of a five-part series by the Rogue Valley Times in May, Kolada, 66, was injured at a group home in east Medford operated by Partnerships in Community Living while caring for two developmentally disabled men.

She was working alone and was apparently attacked by one of the men, who had attacked her multiple times previously, according to Kolada’s family and co-workers.

According to reports of the incident, and witnesses who spoke to Kolada at the hospital, the man, who towered over Kolada and weighed close to 300 pounds, became angry when Kolada was unable to connect his computer to Wi-Fi.

Kolada told family members that the last thing she remembered was seeing the man walk up behind her, out of the corner of her eye. A shift change worker found Kolada bleeding from a head wound in a bathroom and unable to move due to a broken neck.

Pools of blood were found in a living room on the other side of the house. It is believed she was injured up to three hours before she was discovered. After spending five weeks in the intensive care unit at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, Kolada died March 27.

In an official statement sent to the Rogue Valley Times Monday, Lull and District Attorney Beth Heckert said there were “significant roadblocks to criminal prosecution” in the case.

A portion of the statement read:

“Primarily the defendant’s mental capacity (he is nonverbal with a long-standing diagnosis) prevents the state from being able to prove any criminal mental state/intent beyond a reasonable doubt in this matter even if the state could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he physically caused the injuries to Ms. Kolada.”

Lull also stated that a lack of evidence hindered possible prosecution. Police were sent to escort an ambulance crew to the home where Kolada was injured, on Ruth Drive in east Medford, but police did not initially investigate the incident.

“Due to this being dealt with as a medical assist, rather than a criminal investigation, when law enforcement initially responded, the crime scene itself was cleaned up by the facility before it was known that injuries would lead to her death or might have been criminal in nature. Thus, there is no forensic crime scene analysis to help us understand the nature of how injuries occurred either to prove or disprove the specific causes for the injuries.”

In the statement, the District Attorney’s Office named the man believed to have killed Kolada. The Rogue Valley Times has decided not to name the individual because he has not been charged with a crime, and because of his mental status. 

Heckert said in an interview Monday that no further action would be taken by her office.

“We would have to move through something like a civil commitment proceeding, or something like that, if we thought he was a danger to himself or to others,” Heckert said.

“But the threshold thing for that case, besides that he’s not able to assist, is we really just don’t have the proof to prove he really did it. It’s a circumstantial case, because we just don’t know.”

Heckert said she “would presume or hope that the folks who are caring for him would maybe step up what kind of facility he needed to be in.”

Kolada’s daughter Jessica Bandy declined to comment about the DA’s decision, citing emotional distress over the ongoing case.

Joanne Fuhrman, CEO for Partnerships in Community Living, in a written statement to the Rogue Valley Times, stated:

“Like so many in our community, we were deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend Bobbie. We understand that, after reviewing all the relevant documentation and information provided by PCL and others, the DA has decided not to move forward with criminal charges. While we recognize that the pain of losing Bobbie is still fresh for so many, we hope we can all begin the healing process after such a devastating loss.”

Asked if any changes — staffing or otherwise — had been made for the client believed to have caused Kolada’s injuries, Fuhrman stated:

“After any incident, including this one, we always review what happened and what can be done to improve our internal processes, including providing additional employee training, and updating individual support plans if needed.”

Kolada’s sister and brother-in-law, who spoke on behalf of the family, voiced frustration that seemingly nothing has changed since Kolada’s death.

Don Scott, Kolada’s brother-in-law, said he would help push for change.

“Bobbie Kolada’s relatives, who still mourn her sudden death, agree that a developmentally deficient person cannot be legally responsible, but we believe the lack of evidence proves only that monitoring what happens in such group homes, and reporting it, is deficient,” he said in a written statement.

“At minimum, full staffing should be mandatory at all times, and cameras should be required.”

Kolada’s sister, Mary Kolada Scott, who lives in Ventura, California, said she was disappointed that her sister’s death had not prompted discussion of changes in the caregiving industry; by Partnerships in Community Living, the county or state officials.

In a written statement, Scott said she was “grateful to have been able to shed light on a flawed system and still hope that changes will be made to protect caregivers in the future.”

Contacted by phone, Scott admitted anger and frustration.

“I guess what we hope is that enough awareness has been made that some changes will eventually happen. I’m honestly kind of gob-smacked,” she said.

“The hardest part of all this to assimilate is … did she die for nothing? Because, so far, it’s as though nothing ever happened.”