A Florida nurse has been arrested after home surveillance footage captured her subjecting a quadriplegic woman to repeated abuse in her own home.
Nia Ayers, 24, a licensed practical nurse from St. Cloud, now faces charges of aggravated assault of a disabled teenager after the video evidence revealed shocking acts of cruelty against an 18-year-old woman diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
The victim, who is non-verbal and dependent on a ventilator, allegedly had her mouth taped shut, was violently shaken and subjected to ongoing physical torment by Ayers – who had been entrusted with her daily care.
The abuse came to light on May 3, when the victim’s mother noticed unexplained red cuts and scrapes on her daughter’s face, leading her to review surveillance footage from inside the home.
What she discovered was horrifying, Ayers could be seen repeatedly taping the victim’s mouth shut and ripping the tape off, shaking her head and body, pinching her and aggressively shaking her breathing machine – causing the teen’s nose to bleed.
The heinous ‘acts of torture’ led to Ayers’ arrest on Wednesday.
According to the arrest warrant, the home surveillance film also shows Ayers holding a washcloth over the victim’s mouth for 10 seconds and then again for another seven seconds as the paralyzed woman appears to try moving her head away while being suffocated.
Nia Ayers, 24, a licensed practical nurse from St. Cloud, faces charges of aggravated assault of a disabled teenager after video evidence revealed shocking acts of cruelty against an 18-year-old woman diagnosed with cerebral palsy
Ayers (pictured) in St. Cloud Police custody after she was arrested on Wednesday, May 7
St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke (pictured) condemned the incident as ‘tragic and sickening’
The victim’s mother told police that Ayers had been working in her home for more than a year, adding that she now fears there may have been additional abuse that went unnoticed.
Police say they are still examining the full extent of the surveillance footage collected from the home.
St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke condemned the incident as ‘tragic and sickening,’ stressing the extreme vulnerability of disabled individuals under professional care.
‘It’s just absolutely shocking; it’s unimaginable that somebody could do something like this,’ Goerke told Fox35Orlando.
‘If we do find something else, there will be additional charges coming. We will drop charge after charge after charge on this person to ensure either she never sees the light of day, or she doesn’t ever do this again.’
Ayers is currently being held at the Osceola County Jail without bond.
The home care nurse had been employed by two separate healthcare agencies and, according to state records, has no prior disciplinary record with the Florida Department of Health.
She has been licensed as a practical nurse since 2021.
