SAN MATEO — The 93-year-old woman who died after she was served dishwasher detergent as a drink at the Atria Senior Living facility has been identified as Trudy F. Maxwell, the San Mateo County coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday.
Maxwell was one of three care home residents who were hospitalized Sunday night after “mistakenly being served dishwashing liquid as drinking juice,” according to the facility. The two other victims remain in the hospital and their conditions are unknown. San Mateo police and the Department of Social Services are investigating the death.
Atria Senior Living said in a statement it is conducting its own investigation and “the employees involved have been suspended until this investigation concludes.” The home did not specify how many employees were involved.
“We will continue working with the police and Department of Social Service to fully review and assess the incident, after which we will take additional actions as needed,” the statement says. “The safety and well-being of our residents remain our top priorities at all times. Out of respect for the people involved, we cannot comment further.”
A relative of Maxwell who did not want to be identified said on Tuesday that the family is reeling from the death of Trudy, who was a mother of nine and grandmother of 20. The relative said when Trudy died she “looked horrible” with “blisters all over her face and mouth,” unable to drink anything after ingesting the detergent.
“You don’t expect something like this to happen,” the relative said. “Everybody is really pissed off, they’re really hurt, really pissed off and they can’t believe what happened.”
The relative added that the family just can’t wrap their heads around this happening at what they consider to be a “five-star hotel.”
“We want to know who in the hell would do this to someone that is that damn old,” the relative said. “It wasn’t just her, it also was two other people who were all close to 90 years old. It’s just baffling.”
James Maxwell, Trudy’s son, said the family is going through a difficult time and won’t be answering questions until they have had time to process Trudy’s death.
An officer was called to Atria Park of San Mateo at about 8:10 p.m. Sunday on reports of a woman who had been poisoned, San Mateo police said. An investigation revealed that three residents were hospitalized after “ingesting toxic chemicals,” according to police.
Police are investigating the case jointly with the state Department of Social Services Ombudsman.
“This is an ongoing investigation and updates will be provided as soon as they become available,” police said.
In a similar but non-lethal case in June, 12 children at an Alaska school’s summer program drank floor sealant that was served as milk.
The Atria home is at Norfolk Street and Hillsdale Boulevard, just east of Highway 101. Anyone with information related to the case can contact San Mateo police Sgt. Paul Pak at 650-522-7660 or pak@cityofsanmateo.org. Anonymous tips can be submitted at tinyurl.com/SMPDTips or by calling 650-522-7676.