Former Georgia veterans home patient indicted in death of other resident

A former patient at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville has been indicted on voluntary and involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of a resident there this year.

David Tarpley is accused in Roland Daigle’s death in the nursing home on April 8. A staff member at the nursing home witnessed Tarpley punching Daigle the face, according to a Milledgeville police report. Moments later, Daigle fell to the floor and died. The altercation exacerbated Daigle’s heart disease, causing his death, according to a Georgia Department of Community Health inspection report.

Tarpley never got the mental health evaluation he needed for his aggressive behavior before his violent confrontation with Daigle, the inspection report says. State inspectors found the nursing home failed to follow state rules for providing mental health services to one of its residents who demonstrated an increase in “aggressive behaviors.”