By Levi Bakke
Published 9/2/2025
February 21, 2022, was supposed to be a simple drive with his son. Russell Bingaman, 76 years old and struggling with Alzheimer's disease, had been living at home with his wife Patty for nearly six decades of marriage. But when that truck pulled into the parking lot of Nadine's Nest adult foster home, Russell's world shattered.
"THIS RN RECEIVED PHONE CALL FROM THE DAUGHTER SHE REPORTS THE BROTHER TOOK DAD FOR A DRIVE AND ENDED UP AT THE FACILITY AND HE WOULD NOT GET OUT OF THE TRUCK," the hospice admission note documented. When the nurse arrived, Russell was still dressed in his coat and hat---clothes meant for leaving, not staying. He was, according to staff reports, "TRYING TO ESCAPE" and became "DEFENSIVE SAYING HE WANTS TO GET OUT OF HERE AND GO HOME."
This was the raw, desperate response of a man who had been deceived into leaving everything he knew. For Russell, this moment of arrival represented the beginning of his nightmare.
What the family didn't know was that the entire admission was built on procedural fraud. The initial hospice intake paperwork explicitly names Cheryl Murchison as the "Surrogate Decision-Maker." But crucially, at no point in the documentation is there a signed Power of Attorney or Advance Directive that legally designated her with the authority to make end-of-life decisions.
Alice Shaw, RN, representing Heart 'n Home Hospice, accepted Russell into end-of-life care based on the word of a family member who lacked the specific legal authority to make that decision. This bypassed the legal requirements for hospice enrollment for an incapacitated individual.
On that same first day, the facility's immediate response to Russell's distress was documented: "ALICIA NEEDS A SIGNED MEDICATION LIST, COMFORT KIT AND ORDER AND POLST. SHE IS HOPING FOR THE COMFORT KIT TO BE DELIVERED AND WE DISCUSS THE USE OF HALOPERIDOL IF NEEDED TO HELP PATIENT WITH AGITATION FOR THE NIGHT."
The facility's first response to his distress was not de-escalation, but a request for powerful antipsychotic medication. Russell was brought to the facility under a pretext---told "THEY WERE GOING TO EAT THERE"---and when he tried to leave, the response was chemical restraint.
Any experienced dementia care professional knows that sudden displacement is traumatic for Alzheimer's patients. The standard protocol calls for familiar faces, consistent routines, and gradual adaptation with family support. But Tempie Bartell, owner of Nadine's Nest and a licensed Nurse Practitioner, had a different approach.
On March 7, 2022, a hospice note documented the facility's decision: "THEY HAVE NOT ALLOWED THE FAMILY TO VISIT AS OF YET SINCE HE IS STILL ADJUSTING AND NOT SURE HOW HE WOULD DEAL WITH SEEING FAMILY."
This "adjustment period" wasn't therapeutic---it was strategic. By preventing all family visits during Russell's most vulnerable weeks, the facility created a controlled environment where they alone could shape the narrative of his behavior. Any continued agitation could no longer be attributed to the trauma of displacement; it could be blamed on whatever villain they chose to create.
And they had already chosen their villain.
During the family crisis of Russell's placement, his daughter Cheryl expressed a concern that many adult children of dementia patients share. On March 1, 2022, a social worker documented her statement that Russell "SEEMS TO GET AGITATED MORE WHEN HE IS AROUND HIS WIFE."
This observation might have been valid. Dementia patients often become agitated around their primary caregivers, not from hatred but from frustration at their own limitations, from the stress of seeing their partner's distress, or from the painful recognition of their changing relationship. It's a common phenomenon that requires careful, professional management.
But instead of treating this as a complex family dynamic requiring support, Tempie Bartell seized upon it as a solution to a problem only she could see. Within three weeks, that daughter's worried observation had transformed from family concern to institutional fact.
By March 22, 2022, the social worker was documenting that "DTR IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THEY SHOULD LET MOM/PT WIFE VISIT AS SHE IS A TRIGGER OF AGITATION FOR PT IN THE PAST." The word "trigger"---clinical, definitive, causal---was now permanently attached to Patty Bingaman's name in her husband's medical record.
What no one was discussing during these early months were Russell's documented medical conditions---conditions that provided clear, treatable explanations for every behavior that was being blamed on his wife.
Russell had been diagnosed with severe hypomagnesemia by Dr. Bump in May 2021. Low magnesium levels in elderly patients cause confusion, delirium, increased agitation, and heightened sensitivity to medication side effects. The condition requires ongoing monitoring and management, but there was no evidence of follow-up care at Nadine's Nest.
He also had a documented history of urinary retention and sensitivity to anticholinergic medications. His urologist had previously discontinued Oxybutynin due to "adverse effects on his cognitive facilities." Yet these crucial medical insights were being ignored in favor of a much simpler explanation: blame the wife.
The facility's logs even documented Russell's obsessive craving for bananas---a classic sign of magnesium deficiency as the body attempts to self-medicate. Instead of recognizing this medical symptom and addressing it, staff logged it as just another "behavioral issue" to manage.
As early as May 11, 2022---just three months after admission---the facility was already expressing anxiety about Russell's potential improvement. A Visit Note Report authored by hospice social worker Rebecca Soupir documented: "ALICIA WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF RUSSELL NO LONGER QUALIFIES FOR HOSPICE SO SW EXPLORED OPTIONS WITH HER."
This entry revealed that the facility's caregiver was already worried about Russell's "improvement" leading to a loss of hospice status. The concern wasn't framed around Russell's actual well-being, but around his continued eligibility for hospice services. This would become a recurring pattern---improvement was treated as a problem to be managed rather than a positive outcome.
By April 13, 2022, the manipulation had achieved its first major victory. The client coordination notes documented that "DTR and AFH have expressed concern about Patty's excessive visits... The children have asked that Patty not be able to visit... because they are worried it will trigger PT."
The children weren't cruel or vindictive. They were loving, concerned adult children who trusted medical professionals and wanted to protect their father. They had been systematically convinced that their mother---the woman who had cared for Russell for nearly sixty years---was now a threat to his wellbeing.
This represented a stunning achievement in manipulation: within just two months of Russell's arrival, his own children were actively participating in restricting their mother's access, based entirely on a narrative that had been planted and cultivated by the facility.
The manipulation wasn't happening in isolation. It required a network of professionals who would either actively participate or passively enable the false narrative. Alice Shaw, the hospice nurse who had admitted Russell without proper authority, continued to document the facility's version of events without question. Social workers accepted the facility's characterization of family dynamics. Medical providers based their assessments on secondhand reports from caregivers rather than direct observation.
Each professional who accepted the narrative without investigation added another layer of authority to the lies. From the family's perspective, it wasn't just one facility saying their mother was harmful---it was an entire medical team.
November brought genuine crisis. Russell was declining rapidly, and hospice care was appropriately initiated. An IDG Note on November 28, 2022, documented the reality: Russell had lost 10 pounds in one month, was sleeping 16+ hours daily, was "frail and thinning," and had suffered at least six falls.
This was a genuinely sick man whose underlying medical conditions were progressing untreated. But for Tempie Bartell and her staff, this crisis represented opportunity.
On November 29, 2022, the family met with social workers and made a decision: they would "just let Patty visit as she wishes." It seemed reasonable---a dying man should see his wife. But the social worker's notes also documented something crucial: Patty's greatest fear was "that he is going to be dying and no one will tell her."
This documented vulnerability---a wife's terror of being excluded from her husband's final days---would become another weapon in the facility's arsenal.
By December 9, 2022, the facility's campaign was intensifying. The social worker noted that Patty "admits that she has gone to see PT almost every day" and then added the crucial observation: "it could seem as if it was lining up with when her increase in visits started."
"Could seem as if"---the language was tentative, speculative, uncertain. But it was also the language of manufactured correlation. Without any evidence of actual causation, the facility was building a case based on timing alone.
The pressure campaign reached its climax on December 22, 2022, during a mediated meeting. Tempie Bartell expressed her "concern" that Russell "has been more agitated and restless in the last few weeks since Patty has been able to visit freely."
Picture this scene: Patty Bingaman, exhausted from watching her husband of nearly six decades decline, sitting in a room full of medical professionals and her own children, all looking at her as the source of her husband's suffering. Under this pressure, surrounded by supposed experts, she agreed to reduce her visits.
It was a moment of devastating manipulation disguised as medical intervention.
On January 4, 2023, the hospice recertification note contained a statement that would haunt the rest of Russell's life: "History shows that if wife Patty visits too often patient's restlessness and agitation increase."
"History shows"---not "we suspect" or "it appears" but definitive, medical, historical fact. The manufactured narrative had now become part of Russell's official medical record, creating a powerful foundation for every future restriction and manipulation.
As 2022 drew to a close, the facility had perfected a sophisticated system of information control that would define the rest of Russell's story. The guardians would receive constant reports of every crisis, every fall, every moment of agitation that could possibly be linked to Patty's visits. They would hear about Russell "throwing up mucus and being anxious" after Patty left. They would be told that his refusal of care was "normal after Patty's visits."
What they would never hear about were the positive visits---times when Russell was documented as being in a "great mood" after seeing Patty, when he laughed and joked during her visit and then took a peaceful nap. These moments were systematically omitted from family communications, creating a false reality where every encounter with his wife was a crisis.
Whistleblower Lisa Nice would later testify under oath: "Staff were instructed to document negative behaviors after Patty's visits, regardless of whether such behaviors were related to the visit." The documentation that convinced the guardians wasn't based on observation---it was based on instruction to create false evidence.
The guardians weren't receiving medical information---they were receiving propaganda designed to make them fear and resent their own mother.
By the end of 2022, every element was in place for the tragedy that would follow. The facility had successfully:
The guardians believed they were receiving expert medical guidance about their father's care. In reality, they were being systematically programmed to view their mother as a threat.
Russell Bingaman was no longer just a patient with Alzheimer's disease. He had become a weapon that would be used to destroy his own family, wielded by professionals who understood exactly how to exploit love, fear, and trust.
By February 2023, Tempie Bartell had grown impatient with the voluntary nature of Patty's visit restrictions. What had worked in December---gentle pressure and family meetings---was no longer sufficient. Bartell wanted something more binding, more controlling, more permanent.
On February 7, 2023, she revealed her true intentions to the family. "Things have gotten out of hand again with Patty," she declared, and announced her desire to "write out a contract and make Patty sign it." This contract would limit Russell's wife to just two thirty-minute visits per week, and even those would require chaperoning by her adult children or a social worker.
Picture the audacity of this moment: a facility owner attempting to force a legal document upon a spouse, restricting her access to her own husband. This wasn't medical care---it was legal coercion dressed up as professional intervention.
When the social worker expressed concerns about the legality of such a contract, Bartell pivoted with telling ease. Three days later, she sent a follow-up email that inadvertently revealed her knowledge of the law: "It was brought to my attention that I can not restrict visitors."
This email would become crucial evidence. Bartell knew, definitively, that she had no legal authority to restrict Patty's visits. Every future action she took to limit or control those visits was done with full knowledge of its illegality. What had appeared to be professional medical judgment was actually knowing violation of a spouse's legal rights.
On February 28, 2023, something remarkable happened. During a conversation with the social worker, caregiver Alicia---one of the staff members who worked directly with Russell---made a statement that contradicted the facility's entire narrative.
"She has noticed other things that trigger PT," Alicia admitted, "so it is possible that it is not all Patty that causes the agitation."
For just a moment, the truth broke through. Here was a primary caregiver acknowledging that Russell's behavioral issues had multiple causes, that the facility's obsessive focus on Patty was misplaced, that the medical reality was more complex than the simple story they'd been telling.
But the moment of honesty was brief. Alicia quickly added that she would "let the family and Tempie deal with Patty." Even when the truth emerged, it was immediately suppressed. The witnesses knew which narrative was required for their continued employment.
It was during this period that attorney Wyatt S. Baum began to transform from legal counsel into what would later be described as the "architect of the isolation." Baum wasn't just any attorney---he was the grandson of David C. Baum, the revered figure who had led the rebirth of the local hospital. This legacy within the tight-knit Union County network instilled an inherent level of trust in the guardians.
Billing records from this period reveal Baum was actively working on "IBL issues"---Individually-Based Limitations---even though DHS/APS had explicitly stated in writing in October 2023 that an IBL could not legally restrict spousal access. This indicates a persistent effort to find an extra-judicial mechanism for exclusion.
The guardians didn't know their attorney was exploring legally dubious strategies. They trusted him implicitly, believing his aggressive approach was necessary to protect their father.
March 27, 2023, brought a development that would prove crucial to everything that followed. Russell was discharged from hospice care with the official explanation that his "condition is stable. No longer terminally ill." The documentation claimed he had "gained weight and is back to baseline."
On its surface, this seemed like good news---Russell was improving! But the timing and circumstances revealed a more sinister purpose. The hospice discharge removed a critical layer of oversight from Russell's care. The social workers who had been documenting family conflicts, expressing concerns about restrictions, and providing independent assessments were no longer involved.
This wasn't coincidental. With hospice oversight removed, the facility now had nearly unchecked control over Russell's environment and the information flowing to his family. The guardians, already isolated from competing perspectives, were now almost entirely dependent on Nadine's Nest staff for their understanding of their father's condition.
What the guardians didn't know was that Nadine's Nest was dangerously understaffed during this period. Whistleblower Elisha Callahand would later testify that she once worked 60 hours straight alone, responsible for five residents including Russell. "I repeatedly told Tempie that Russell needed placement in a locked facility designed for his level of dementia care," Callahand testified.
But Bartell had a different solution. Instead of finding appropriate care, she would control Russell's behavior through chemical restraints and isolation from his primary emotional support---his wife. It was cheaper, easier, and more profitable than providing actual skilled dementia care.
Lisa Nice, another caregiver with 30 years of experience in adult foster care, would later confirm the systematic nature of the deception. She testified under oath that she "never saw any correlation" between Patty's visits and increased agitation. More damning, she revealed: "There were times that I can recall in the progress notes that they would premedicate him knowing that Patty was coming."
The facility wasn't just lying about Russell's reactions to visits---they were actively drugging him to create the appearance of problems.
October 31, 2023, marked a turning point in Russell's psychological state. On that Halloween evening, Russell's abstract understanding became lived reality. The police arrived at Nadine's Nest to formally trespass his wife from the property. For Russell, watching armed officers remove Patty wasn't just traumatic---it was validation.
He had been saying the staff were lying about Patty. Now he was watching those same staff members use police power to forcibly remove her. From Russell's perspective, every paranoid fear he'd expressed was being proven right before his eyes.
After this incident, when Russell was heard yelling "Patty was right you are all against me," it was no longer the confused rambling of dementia. It was the testimony of a man who had witnessed a conspiracy against his wife and understood, with crystal clarity, exactly what was happening.
Through 2024, the facility perfected its system of manufacturing crises and controlling information. The guardians' communications log reveals a constant stream of reports designed to reinforce the anti-Patty narrative, but a comparison with the facility's internal staff logs reveals systematic distortion and outright deception.
The guardians received a carefully orchestrated sequence of communications: Tempie texted about Russell vomiting, followed by Austin's report that after Patty's visit, their father "threw up mucus and was anxious," followed immediately by Alicia's call about agitation and wanting to leave.
The message was clear: Patty's visit caused vomiting and distress.
But the facility's internal staff log told a different story. It simply noted that "Russell vomited last night and again this morning while Patty is visiting." The vomiting was ongoing, not caused by the visit. It was a medical issue that happened to coincide with Patty's presence, but the guardians were led to believe it was a direct consequence.
This incident represents perhaps the most shocking example of deliberate deception in the entire case. The guardians received a text from Alicia stating: "Dad fell - Patty changed his clothes yesterday - He fell shortly after she left."
The implication was devastating: Patty's visit and her physical care of Russell had somehow caused his fall. The guardians were given a clear cause-and-effect narrative that justified their fears about their mother's involvement in their father's care.
But the facility's own internal log revealed a completely different timeline. The fall occurred at 4:30 AM on April 12th, with staff noting: "4:30 AM resident was on the floor sitting up in front of his TV. I heard a Big Bang and went in and found him there."
Patty didn't visit until 11:20 AM---seven hours after the fall.
This wasn't a miscommunication or a mistake. This was a deliberate fabrication designed to blame Patty for a medical event that occurred when she wasn't even present. The facility staff had lied to the guardians, creating false evidence to support their narrative.
Elisha Callahand would later confirm that staff logs provided to the court were altered and missing pages, specifically noting that entries where Patty successfully assisted with Russell's care were removed.
By May 2024, the campaign against Patty had expanded beyond medical and behavioral concerns into direct financial manipulation. Wyatt Baum, the guardians' attorney, sent an email to Patty's lawyer that revealed the full scope of the coordinated pressure campaign.
The email was a masterpiece of multipronged manipulation. First, Baum made unsubstantiated claims about Patty failing to follow visitation guidelines and demanded she stop providing personal care for her husband. Then came the financial trap: "Your client has noted to my clients that she is running low on money. To that end, my clients would be willing to purchase the Deal property from her..."
This wasn't legal advice---it was predatory exploitation. Baum was using Patty's documented financial vulnerability to pressure her into a property sale that would benefit his clients while leaving her in a precarious position.
The proposed structure was particularly cruel: three $250,000 promissory notes at 11% interest with a "no prepayment" clause. This would lock Patty into twenty years of payments, preventing her from accessing her property equity when she needed it most. The guardians believed they were helping their mother; they were actually participating in her financial imprisonment.
Even more disturbing, billing records revealed that Baum was simultaneously representing the guardians, working on property transfers that would benefit them personally, and billing both the family and Russell's estate for substantially the same work---a clear conflict of interest that the guardians never knew about.
On July 8, 2024, Baum Smith LLC accepted payment from Darren Murchison, Cheryl's husband. This occurred just two days before the July 10 strategy call where the lockout would be finalized. Baum allowed Cheryl, a non-fiduciary whose husband was funding the litigation, to exert significant influence over the appointed guardians, blurring the lines of fiduciary duty.
While the facility's reports to the guardians painted a picture of behavioral problems caused by family visits, Russell's actual medical conditions were progressing untreated. His severe hypomagnesemia continued to cause confusion and agitation. His urinary retention, exacerbated by medications with anticholinergic properties, created physical discomfort that manifested as restlessness and inappropriate urination.
What the guardians were told was a behavioral response to their mother was actually the predictable result of untreated medical conditions and inappropriate medication management. But addressing these medical issues would have required competent care and proper oversight---things that were incompatible with the facility's true priorities.
Throughout this period, the facility's own logs documented something remarkable that the guardians never heard about. Russell wasn't just randomly agitated---he was specifically defending his wife against the staff's treatment of her.
On May 11, 2024, a staff log entry recorded: "He yelled at me to get out stating Patty said you guys are lying."
On May 30, 2024, another entry noted: "Yelled in my face that Patty was right you are all against me."
These weren't the confused utterances of a dementia patient. These were the clear, cogent statements of a man who understood exactly what was happening to his wife and was trying to protect her in the only way his diminished condition allowed.
But the guardians never heard these direct quotes. Instead, they were told their father was "agitated and confused" after visits, with no context about why he was agitated or what he was trying to communicate.
Analysis of the communications reveals a disturbing pattern: many of the "crises" reported to the guardians existed only in the reports to the family, not in the facility's internal documentation.
On May 29, 2024, the guardians' log shows Tempie texting about an "awful reaction" to a long visit from Patty. But this "awful reaction" appears nowhere in the facility's own staff logs for that day or the surrounding days. It existed solely as a communication tool to reinforce the anti-Patty narrative.
This pattern suggests that some of the reported crises weren't real events at all, but manufactured communications designed to maintain the guardians' fear and anger toward their mother.
While the guardians heard about every possible negative incident that could be linked to Patty's visits, they were never told about the overwhelming evidence of positive interactions. Analysis of the facility's logs reveals that 94.4% of Patty's pre-restriction visits had zero documented problems.
The hidden positive entries tell a completely different story:
These moments of connection, love, and peace were systematically omitted from family communications. The guardians were shown only the 5.6% of visits that had any notation of concern, creating a massively distorted picture of their parents' relationship.
Throughout 2024, the circle of professionals reinforcing the false narrative grew larger. Cami Bean, the nurse practitioner who would later provide the fraudulent terminal diagnosis, never spoke directly with Patty but based all her assessments on facility reports. Hospice providers accepted the facility's narratives without independent investigation. Even DHS officials would eventually be drawn into validating restrictions that violated state law.
From the guardians' perspective, every medical professional they encountered confirmed their worst fears about their mother. How could so many experts be wrong?
They couldn't know that these professionals weren't conducting independent assessments---they were simply repeating the facility's manufactured narrative, creating an echo chamber of false authority that made the lies seem incontrovertible.
Whistleblower testimony would later reveal that throughout this period, Nadine's Nest was becoming increasingly unsafe and understaffed. Former manager Elisha Callahand testified that she once worked 60 hours straight alone, responsible for five residents including Russell. She repeatedly told Tempie Bartell that Russell needed placement in a locked facility designed for his level of dementia care.
But Bartell had a different solution. Instead of finding appropriate care, she would control Russell's behavior through chemical restraints and isolation from his primary emotional support---his wife. It was cheaper, easier, and more profitable than providing actual skilled dementia care.
By May 2024, every element was in place for the final phase of the plan. The guardians had been completely convinced that their mother was the source of their father's problems. They had been isolated from competing perspectives and surrounded by professional authorities who confirmed their fears. They had been financially leveraged and legally maneuvered into accepting increasingly severe restrictions.
Most crucially, they had been systematically programmed to distrust their own observations and instincts. When they saw their father's distress at being separated from their mother, they were trained to interpret it as evidence that the separation was necessary. When he tried to defend his wife, they were told he was confused. When he expressed love for Patty, they were told it was harmful.
The manipulation was now complete. The guardians were no longer independent decision-makers---they were instruments of a plan they didn't understand, weapons being used to destroy their own family.
The stage was set for the final act: the complete isolation of Russell Bingaman from the woman he had loved for sixty years, and the chemical restraint protocol that would kill him.
All that remained was to manufacture the medical crisis that would justify these extreme measures. And Tempie Bartell already had a plan for that.
June 19, 2024, began like many other days at Nadine's Nest, but it would prove to be the beginning of the end for Russell Bingaman. The guardians' log shows a seemingly routine entry: "Tempie text @4:03PM to make appt. Tempie ordered meds Appt. not until next Thursday."
What the guardians didn't realize was that they had just documented a crime.
Tempie Bartell, the facility owner, had no authority to "order meds" for Russell. She was not his physician, not his prescribing provider, and certainly not authorized to order powerful antipsychotic medications for an elderly dementia patient not directly under her medical care. But that's exactly what she did, prescribing Chlorpromazine---a dangerous, old-generation antipsychotic known for causing extreme sedation, confusion, falls, and life-threatening interactions with other medications.
Pharmacy records would later confirm that Bartell had prescribed medications for Russell on multiple occasions, including Levofloxacin in November 2022 and now Chlorpromazine in June 2024. As a facility owner without prescribing authority for residents in her own facility, these actions constituted a profound conflict of interest.
The guardians trusted the professionals. When Tempie said she was arranging medical care for their father, they believed she was acting within her authority. They had no way of knowing they were witnessing the orchestration of a medical emergency designed to justify the final phase of the plan.
Six days later, on June 25, 2024, Bartell revealed the true purpose of her medical manipulation. She sent an email to the guardians and their attorney with a stark ultimatum: "Will need to move Russell ASAP if Patty continues to visit."
The choice she presented was devastating in its simplicity:
For children who had spent two years being convinced that their father's housing stability was crucial to his wellbeing, this wasn't really a choice at all. The facility was forcing them to choose between their father's housing and their mother's access, knowing exactly which option they would select.
Whistleblower Elisha Callahand testified: "She specifically told me that she sent a move out order to his attorney so that they could stop. They could immediately stop Patty from coming. It wasn't to protect Russell, it was to stop Patty from coming. She's a liar."
The move-out order wasn't about protecting Russell---it was specifically designed "to stop Patty from coming." The medical justifications were a facade. This was pure coercion disguised as clinical necessity.
That same day, June 25, 2024, Wyatt Baum filed a Motion to Limit Association on behalf of the guardians. By elevating the facility's unsubstantiated complaints into a formal legal proceeding, Baum reinforced the idea that Patricia's actions had a "detrimental effect," validating the guardians' perception that the threat was objective and required immediate intervention.
But Baum went further. On July 10, 2024, he participated in a strategy call with Shawn, Austin, and Cheryl. The guardians' log entry from that day is explicit: they were advised that "licensing said the AFH [Adult Foster Home] could lock the door to keep Patty out."
Baum facilitated and endorsed this extra-judicial "licensing permission" while his own motion was still pending before the court. This maneuver provided the guardians with a false sense of legal backing, leading them to believe their actions were sanctioned by the state.
During the subsequent hearing, when questioned about the decision to enact a complete prohibition on visits before the court ruled, Austin Bingaman would deflect responsibility directly to his attorney: "It was under advice of counsel that we do what we were doing."
On June 27, 2024, the pieces of Bartell's plan came together in a telehealth appointment that would change everything. Russell, heavily sedated from the Chlorpromazine Bartell had illegally prescribed, slept through the entire evaluation with nurse practitioner Cami Bean.
Think about the absurdity of this scene: a medical provider conducting a terminal diagnosis evaluation of a patient who was unconscious throughout the entire appointment. Bean hadn't examined Russell in person for over a year, had never spoken to his wife, and was basing her assessment entirely on reports from the facility that was actively working to isolate him.
The guardians' log notes: "Dad sleeping... Cami ask that he go back on Hospice."
From their perspective, an independent medical professional had confirmed their worst fears: their father was dying. They had no way of knowing that his condition during the appointment was the direct result of illegal medication ordered by the facility owner specifically to create this exact scenario.
Based on this fraudulent evaluation, Bean issued a terminal prognosis of six months or less, making Russell eligible for hospice care. But this wasn't legitimate medical assessment---it was the manufacture of a medical crisis to justify the chemical restraint protocol that would follow.
Months later, on December 20, 2024, Wyatt Baum would inadvertently admit the fraud in an email: "As to the notation in the medical records of Mr. Bingaman having six months to live, I understand health care providers did that to enable Mr. Bingaman to have access to hospice care. My clients are unaware of any diagnosis or concern regarding Mr. Bingaman's health that puts his life expectancy to six months."
This was a timestamped acknowledgment from the guardians' own attorney that he knew the hospice qualification was fraudulent. The terminal diagnosis that justified the chemical restraint protocol was based on manufactured medical necessity, not legitimate clinical assessment.
Russell's enrollment in hospice care triggered an immediate and dramatic change in his medication regimen. Within hours of the enrollment, powerful sedatives were introduced:
The pharmacy system immediately flagged multiple "SEVERE" interaction warnings, particularly for the Chlorpromazine that Bartell had illegally ordered. But the system note simply stated: "MD AWARE, BENEFITS OUTWEIGH RISKS"---a boilerplate justification for what any competent geriatrician would recognize as dangerous polypharmacy.
No legitimate medical professional would combine these medications in an elderly dementia patient unless the goal was sedation rather than treatment. The hospice enrollment wasn't about comfort care---it was about legal cover for chemical restraint.
Two days after the hospice enrollment, the moment everyone had been building toward finally arrived. Patty Bingaman drove to Nadine's Nest with her friend Jody Bullock, a mandatory reporter and former adult foster home operator with 21 years of experience, to visit her husband.
They never made it to Russell's room.
Austin Bingaman was already there. This son—a man who had once loved his mother, who had grown up in a household where family meant everything—now stood as a physical barrier between his parents. Forced into an impossible situation, one undoubtedly filled with heartache and regret.
The confrontation was heartbreaking in its controlled restraint. When Patty tried to enter, Austin blocked her way. "You're not supposed to be in here," he said quietly.
"Don't touch me," Patty warned as she tried to pass.
Austin, maintaining his composure despite the obvious distress: "There's a motion. There's a court order motion."
"I know. And it hasn't been heard," Patty responded, her legal knowledge clear. "It hasn't been heard."
Austin, trying to de-escalate: "Let's go outside. I don't want to do this in front of all these people... We're not doing this in here in front of all these residents."
"No," Patty replied, "I don't want to upset them."
What happened next would haunt everyone present. Austin would later testify that once outside, things became "heated." Staff logs documented Patty "screaming."
Inside, Shawn sat with his father, undoubtedly there to comfort and protect him. But the window was open. Russell heard everything.
After years of fighting alone, after being systematically excluded from her husband's care, after watching him decline while being blamed for it—Patty broke. The composed woman who had tried to navigate the legal system, who had documented every visit, who had fought within the rules—finally shattered.
Her anguish echoed through that open window to where Russell sat with his son.
Russell's response validated everything he'd been trying to communicate for months: "Patty was right, you're all against me!" and "You're all liars!"
He wasn't confused. He wasn't having a dementia episode. He was a man hearing his wife of 58 years screaming in anguish outside, being physically prevented from seeing him, and he understood with perfect clarity what was happening.
Picture the devastating tragedy of this moment:
This wasn't a family that hated each other. This was a family that loved each other, destroyed by professionals who had weaponized that love, turning it into the very instrument of their destruction.
The sons believed they were protecting their father from a harmful influence. Russell knew they were being used to torture both him and his wife. Patty's breakdown wasn't manipulation or theatrics—it was the sound of a woman watching her husband stolen from her by their own children.
Every person in this scene was a victim. Every person was traumatized. Every person was acting from love.
And that's what made it so unutterably cruel.
A previous interaction where Shawn had come to Nadines Nest alone, called in by the facility, his voice reportedly shaky with distress, did something he had never done before in his life: he called his mother "Pat." Not "Mom," not "Mother," but "Pat"---the formal, distant name used by strangers.
That single word revealed everything about what had been done to this family. The manipulation had been so complete that a son couldn't even use the word "mother" when speaking to the woman who had raised him.
Jody Bullock, watching this scene with her professional eye, immediately recognized what she was witnessing. As someone who had operated an adult foster home for over two decades with zero findings of abuse, she knew that preventing a spouse from visiting violated the most basic principles of resident rights.
"In the resident's rights," she would later testify, "the resident has the right to visitors 24-7. And I just, especially his wife... Never. And it's against the rules."
But the guardians had been told by their attorney, by DHS officials, by the facility, and by medical providers that they had the legal authority to prevent these visits. They believed they were acting within the law to protect their father.
Bullock also testified about Russell's actual response to seeing his wife: "I found that it was helpful to have family there." She had successfully demonstrated that Russell could be calmed and managed through proper dementia care approaches, not through chemical restraint. Her professional assessment of neglect---"filthy, dirty fingernails," "mess in his britches," overgrown toenails---would be confirmed by Russell's rapid decline after the lockout.
July 12, 2024, brought one of the most crucial moments in the entire case---a moment when the truth could have broken through, when the manipulation could have been exposed, when Russell's life could have been saved.
Selina Shaffer, an experienced registered nurse with 30 years of experience and a specialty in care transitions, accompanied Patty to Nadine's Nest. As someone the children knew and could have trusted, someone with healthcare expertise and no personal stake in the family conflict, Selina represented the best hope for an independent professional assessment.
What she found shocked her.
"Upon arrival at the door to Nadine's Nest, we discovered the front door was locked," Selina documented. "As a registered nurse, I have worked in home care settings, and I have never encountered a care facility with a locked front door."
The staff member who eventually came to the door remained on the telephone throughout the entire interaction, refusing to grant Patty access and providing no explanation or accommodation. To Selina's trained eye, this wasn't professional healthcare---it was hostage-taking disguised as medical care.
"I am dismayed for the lack of professionalism," she wrote.
Recognizing the illegality of what they had witnessed, Selina and Patty immediately went to Adult Protective Services to report the lockout. There they met with Eric Stone and Aaron Lennox from DHS.
Aaron Lennox made a statement to Selina that would prove to be another crucial deception: "He had the 'policy analysts in Salem review the documents and he was validated that visits from Russell's wife, Patty could legally be restricted from entering the home.'"
This claim would later be proven completely false. No such review had occurred, no such authority existed, and Lennox knew it. But in that moment, his statement provided official government validation for the illegal lockout. From the guardians' perspective, they now had the backing of the state itself.
Investigation would later reveal that Aaron Lennox's claim about "policy analysts in Salem" reviewing and validating the spousal restrictions was completely fabricated. No such review had occurred, no such authority existed, and Lennox knew it.
Selina Shaffer's professional assessment cut through all the manufactured complexity and identified the core issue with devastating clarity:
"I challenge that the children are being provided with accurate and credible information... I am concerned Russell's children are innocently looking at Nadine's Nest staff as experts in dementia care."
She recognized exactly what was happening: competent, loving children were being manipulated by incompetent facility staff who were masquerading as dementia care experts.
Her clinical observation was even more damning: "Managing a dementia patient with behaviors can be challenging, and if caregivers are uneducated, their assessment skills are unlikely to reflect the disease status of the patient."
Selina was identifying the core problem: the facility was using chemical restraints instead of proper dementia care techniques. She specifically requested validation that "reasonable attempts for behavior modification are being offered, outside of chemical restraints."
Most importantly, Selina diagnosed the manipulation itself:
"It appeared to me the allegations from care facility staff to Russell's children have become a cycle of misinformation and corrupt power."
She saw the entire system clearly:
Her conclusion was prophetic: "I walked out of this visit, sickened, thinking Union County Adult Protective Services had the power to make a biased investigation and restrict the contact of a husband and wife."
In sworn testimony during the guardianship hearing, Shaffer would systematically destroy the guardians' case. She debunked "Transfer Trauma," neutralizing the argument that moving Russell would harm him. She delivered a devastating rebuke of the facility, stating that after touring Nadine's Nest for her own father, "it is not a place that I would want my father to be."
The September 10, 2024, hearing was not merely a legal argument; it was a strategic performance orchestrated by Baum to solidify the manufactured crisis. He presented Nurse Practitioner Cami Bean as the medical authority justifying the restrictions.
Bean's testimony revealed critical flaws: she admitted her last in-person visit with Russell was over a year prior, she had never met Patricia, and her recommendations were based solely on what she was "informed" by the guardians and caregivers. When Bean testified that Russell "slept the entire visit" during the telehealth appointment where the terminal prognosis was issued, Baum allowed this to stand as evidence of decline, concealing the likely reality that Russell was sedated.
Most damaging was when Baum elicited testimony that directly contradicted medical reality. He questioned Tempie Bartell about Russell's condition since the lockout.
Bartell testified under oath: "He's been much improved. Eating and drinking, he actually gained a little bit of weight. Very cheerful most of the time."
This testimony was demonstrably false. Medical records from this exact period documented a catastrophic 20-28 pound weight loss, increased sedation, and multiple falls. By presenting this false narrative under oath, Baum reinforced to the guardians that their painful decision was yielding positive results.
By mid-July 2024, the guardians found themselves in a position that seemed unassailable from their perspective. Every authority figure they encountered confirmed the same narrative:
Against this wall of official authority, one nurse's concerns seemed like personal opinion rather than professional expertise. The guardians couldn't know that Selina Shaffer was the only person telling them the truth.
Five days after Selina Shaffer's intervention, a hospice nurse created the documentation that would be used to "prove" the lockout was working. The note read: "PT AGITATION WELL CONTROLLED WITH LORAZEPAM, WIFE NOT ALLOWED IN FACILITY, PT LESS AGITATED SINCE NOT DEALING WITH WIFE."
This wasn't medical observation---it was propaganda creation. The note deliberately linked Russell's chemical sedation to his wife's absence, creating false evidence of causation that would be used to justify the continued lockout.
The truth was simpler and more horrifying: Russell wasn't "less agitated" because his wife was gone. He was less agitated because he was being drugged into submission.
By the end of July 2024, every element of the trap was in place:
The professional who could have saved them---Selina Shaffer---had been dismissed as biased. The government officials who lied to them---Aaron Lennox---had been believed as authoritative. The facility owner who was poisoning their father---Tempie Bartell---had been trusted as a healthcare expert.
In reality, they had just participated in sealing their father's death warrant. Russell Bingaman was now completely isolated from his primary emotional support, chemically restrained beyond any medical necessity, and under the control of people who saw him as a problem to be managed rather than a human being to be cared for.
The final phase---the chemical assault that would kill him---was about to begin.
And the most tragic part was that his children, the people who loved him most in the world, would celebrate these developments as victory. They had been so completely manipulated that they would watch their father's destruction and believe they were witnessing his salvation.
The orchestration was complete. Now came the devastating consequences.
With Patty now physically barred from the facility and Russell enrolled in hospice under fraudulent pretenses, the final phase of the plan could begin in earnest. What followed was not comfort care, but a systematic chemical assault on an elderly man whose only crime was having a wife who loved him too much.
The medication regimen that began in early August was staggering in its scope and dangerous in its combinations. Russell was subjected to a daily cocktail of powerful psychoactive drugs: Haloperidol, Lorazepam, Morphine, Quetiapine, and the ABHR cream containing Ativan, Benadryl, Haldol, and Reglan. Each medication carried serious side effects for elderly patients. Together, they were a recipe for rapid decline.
The numbers would soon tell the story that the facility's reports concealed. In just 46 days---the period Russell was isolated from his wife---he would lose 36 pounds, suffer multiple falls, develop injuries including a golf-ball-sized bump on his forehead, and exhibit increasingly desperate behaviors as his body fought against the chemical restraints.
But none of this information reached the guardians in its true context. They continued to receive reports that Russell was "improving" without their mother, that his agitation was "well controlled," and that the restrictions were working exactly as intended.
Two weeks into the isolation protocol, the facility made a decision that sealed Russell's fate. A nurse documented that due to Russell's "long-term noncompliance with oral medications," the ABHR cream should be scheduled "4 TIMES PER DAY."
This represented a crucial escalation. The facility was moving from administering powerful sedatives "as needed" to applying a drug cocktail to Russell's skin four times daily, ensuring he would have no respite from chemical restraint. Even if he refused oral medications, even if he tried to resist, the drugs would be absorbed through his skin continuously.
For Russell, this meant there would be no escape from the fog of sedation. No moments of clarity to express his wishes, no opportunities to connect meaningfully with caregivers, no chance to advocate for himself or ask for his wife. He was being systematically drugged into compliance.
The medical rationale was thin at best. Russell's "noncompliance" with oral medications was a normal response from a dementia patient who was being over-medicated. Instead of reducing the medication burden or finding alternative approaches, the facility's solution was to force the drugs on him through his skin.
Elisha Callahand would later testify about this exact moment: "That is one of the times that she called Hospice while I was gone for the weekend, met Hospice at the house, and that's when they made the decision to up the cream to four times a day. And I was like, that's not... This is not how I wanted this. Like I didn't need him drugged. I need him somewhere that can take care of him."
Eighteen days after the lockout began, hospice created a document that inadvertently exposed the entire scheme. The recertification note, meant to justify Russell's continued hospice eligibility, documented the reality that the guardians were never told:
This document was devastating in its implications. How does a patient who is supposedly "improving" without his wife lose 20 pounds and fall five times? The very evidence meant to justify continued hospice care actually proved that the isolation was causing catastrophic decline.
But the guardians never saw this document in context. They weren't told about the weight loss, the falls, or the increasing need for interventions. They were only told that their father was stable and that the restrictions were medically necessary.
By the end of August, even Tempie Bartell couldn't deny the reality of what was happening. In a call to hospice, she admitted that Russell had "increased agitation, aggression, hitting staff and falling more often."
This was a stunning admission from the facility owner who had spent months claiming that Russell improved when Patty wasn't present. Now she was acknowledging that, isolated from his wife and under chemical restraint, he was worse than ever---more agitated, more aggressive, falling more frequently.
But instead of recognizing this as evidence that the isolation was harmful, instead of questioning the medication regimen or considering reuniting Russell with his primary emotional support, Bartell's solution was to double down. The hospice nurse received verbal orders to increase the ABHR cream to four times daily.
The plan had failed catastrophically, but rather than admit error, the response was to intensify the very interventions that were destroying Russell.
While the guardians received sanitized reports about their father's "stability," the reality inside Nadine's Nest was horrifying. Whistleblower testimony would later reveal that Russell was experiencing:
Former facility manager Elisha Callahand would later comment in an interview about her desperate attempts to get Russell appropriate care. She had repeatedly told Bartell that Russell needed placement in a locked facility designed for his level of dementia, but Bartell's response was always the same: increase the medication.
"I didn't need him drugged. I need him somewhere that can take care of him," Callahand recalled telling Bartell. But proper placement would mean losing money and required admitting that Nadine's Nest wasn't equipped to handle Russell's needs. Chemical restraint was income and cover.
Lisa Nice, another former manager, revealed the systematic use of medications to sabotage visits. She observed "increased use of Lorazepam to sedate Russell, particularly before scheduled visits with Patty," ensuring he would appear groggy and unresponsive when his wife arrived.
Nice was unequivocal in her assessment: she "never saw any correlation" between Patty's visits and increased agitation. She observed severe neglect, including finding Russell soaked in urine and feces after weekends, leading to pneumonia diagnoses that were ignored by other staff. Crucially, she confirmed the tactic of sabotage: "There were times that I can recall in the progress notes that they would premedicate him knowing that Patty was coming."
Nearly two and a half months into Russell's isolation, something happened that should have shattered the facility's entire narrative. During a brief, supervised visit, a hospice nurse documented an observation that revealed the true nature of Russell's relationship with his wife:
"PT BECAME TEARY EYED, ACCEPTED A KISS FROM WIFE AFTER 2ND ATTEMPT"
This wasn't the reaction of a man who was agitated by his wife's presence. This was the emotional response of someone who had been forcibly separated from his life partner and was overwhelmed to see her again. The tears, the acceptance of affection, the clear emotional connection---all of it contradicted months of reports that Russell was "better" without Patty.
Any competent healthcare provider witnessing this scene would have questioned the entire premise of the isolation. If Russell was truly improved by his wife's absence, why was he tearful and emotional when she returned? If her visits were harmful, why did he accept her kiss and show such clear signs of missing her?
Two days after Russell's emotional response to seeing his wife, the facility's documentation revealed how thoroughly the false narrative had become institutionalized. Despite what the nurse had witnessed, the record stated: "CAREGIVERS REPORT PATIENT BECOMES HOSTILE AND PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE WITH CAREGIVERS AND WITH OTHER RESIDENTS FOLLOWING SUCH PREVIOUSLY STATED VISITS"
This wasn't based on observation---it was automatic repetition of the established lie. Even when the evidence clearly contradicted the narrative, certain hospice employees document the required story. The deception had become so ingrained that it persisted regardless of reality.
In October 2024, Russell was transferred to Wildflower Lodge. What happened there would provide the most powerful validation of everything Patty had been saying.
Kelly Frias, LPN and Wellness Director at Wildflower Lodge, sent an urgent letter to the hospice provider on November 7, 2024. She documented that the medication regimen from Nadine's Nest left Russell "so sedated that he could not open his eyes and had to be spoon fed," causing four falls in three days.
Frias identified the drug Lamotrigine as the cause. When the drug was stopped, Russell "greatly improved." Her letter concluded with a direct rebuke of the previous care philosophy: "We don't use medication to a level of sedation to control behaviors at Wildflower Lodge."
This professional assessment from an independent facility confirmed everything: Russell's decline wasn't from his wife's visits or from Alzheimer's progression. It was from inappropriate medication management designed to control rather than care.
Throughout Russell's decline, the agency meant to protect him was engaged in what appeared to be a strategic delay. DHS Investigation ID: 00362508 reveals a stunning pattern:
Between these dates was a 94-day gap---a clear violation of Oregon Administrative Rule 411-020-0025, which mandates investigations be completed within 60 days. There was no evidence of "good cause" for an extension.
The timing was crucial. By closing the case on January 27th with an "unsubstantiated" finding, DHS created an official record stating the facility was not at fault. Had the investigator waited two more days, Russell's death would have transformed the case into a potential death investigation.
Analysis of the 36 documented visits before the lockout revealed the truth that the guardians never knew: 94.4% of Patty's visits had no documented problems. The overwhelming evidence showed a husband who was consistently described as being in a "great mood" after seeing his wife, who would "laugh and joke" during her visits, who would often take peaceful naps afterward.
Audio recordings captured Russell telling Patty, "I am damn glad to see you," and asking hopefully, "Are you going to take me home?"
These weren't the words of a man who was agitated by his wife's presence. They were the words of a man who loved her desperately and was confused about why he couldn't go home with her.
Throughout Russell's decline, professionals who could have exposed the truth were systematically excluded or ignored. Jody Bullock, with 21 years of foster care experience and zero abuse findings, had identified clear neglect and violations of resident rights. Selina Shaffer, an experienced RN, had diagnosed the "cycle of misinformation and corrupt power" and challenged the use of chemical restraints over proper behavioral interventions.
Kelly Ivey, Russell's niece, provided a sworn affidavit correcting the record after Tempie Bartell blatantly lied about her visit. Bartell testified that Ivey left early because Russell became "tense and anxious." Ivey clarified that this was "completely untrue"; she had been discussing her own mother's dementia, and her visit with Russell ended warmly. Bartell weaponized this fabricated account to justify the 30-minute visitation limits imposed by the court.
But their professional assessments were dismissed as bias or personal opinion, while the manufactured reports from Nadine's Nest staff were treated as expert medical judgment.
The most tragic irony was that Russell's death proved everything Patty had been saying was true. She had insisted that her husband was being over-medicated. She had argued that he needed her presence, not her absence. She had claimed that the facility was misrepresenting his condition and needs.
Every accusation she had made, every concern she had raised, every plea she had issued was validated by the outcome. Russell died exactly as she had predicted he would if kept away from her and subjected to inappropriate chemical restraints.
But by the time the truth became undeniable, it was too late to save either Russell or the family that had been destroyed by trusting the wrong professionals.
The guardians had been turned into weapons against their own father, convinced they were protecting him while actually participating in his destruction. They would have to live with this knowledge for the rest of their lives, victims of a manipulation so thorough that it had made them complicit in the very tragedy they were trying to prevent.
Russell Bingaman died not from Alzheimer's disease, but from the systematic betrayal of everyone he should have been able to trust---everyone except the wife who had fought for him until the very end.
With Patty now physically barred from the facility and Russell enrolled in hospice under fraudulent pretenses, the final phase of the plan could begin in earnest. What followed was not comfort care, but a systematic chemical assault on an elderly man whose only crime was having a wife who loved him too much.
The medication regimen that began in early August was staggering in its scope and dangerous in its combinations. Russell was subjected to a daily cocktail of powerful psychoactive drugs: Haloperidol, Lorazepam, Morphine, Quetiapine, and the ABHR cream containing Ativan, Benadryl, Haldol, and Reglan. Each medication carried serious side effects for elderly patients. Together, they were a recipe for rapid decline.
The numbers would soon tell the story that the facility's reports concealed. In just 46 days---the period Russell was isolated from his wife---he would lose 36 pounds, suffer multiple falls, develop injuries including a golf-ball-sized bump on his forehead, and exhibit increasingly desperate behaviors as his body fought against the chemical restraints.
But none of this information reached the guardians in its true context. They continued to receive reports that Russell was "improving" without their mother, that his agitation was "well controlled," and that the restrictions were working exactly as intended.
Two weeks into the isolation protocol, the facility made a decision that sealed Russell's fate. A nurse documented that due to Russell's "long-term noncompliance with oral medications," the ABHR cream should be scheduled "4 TIMES PER DAY."
This represented a crucial escalation. The facility was moving from administering powerful sedatives "as needed" to applying a drug cocktail to Russell's skin four times daily, ensuring he would have no respite from chemical restraint. Even if he refused oral medications, even if he tried to resist, the drugs would be absorbed through his skin continuously.
For Russell, this meant there would be no escape from the fog of sedation. No moments of clarity to express his wishes, no opportunities to connect meaningfully with caregivers, no chance to advocate for himself or ask for his wife. He was being systematically drugged into compliance.
The medical rationale was thin at best. Russell's "noncompliance" with oral medications was a normal response from a dementia patient who was being over-medicated. Instead of reducing the medication burden or finding alternative approaches, the facility's solution was to force the drugs on him through his skin.
Elisha Callahand would later testify about this exact moment: "That is one of the times that she called Hospice while I was gone for the weekend, met Hospice at the house, and that's when they made the decision to up the cream to four times a day. And I was like, that's not... This is not how I wanted this. Like I didn't need him drugged. I need him somewhere that can take care of him."
Eighteen days after the lockout began, hospice created a document that inadvertently exposed the entire scheme. The recertification note, meant to justify Russell's continued hospice eligibility, documented the reality that the guardians were never told:
This document was devastating in its implications. How does a patient who is supposedly "improving" without his wife lose 20 pounds and fall five times? The very evidence meant to justify continued hospice care actually proved that the isolation was causing catastrophic decline.
But the guardians never saw this document in context. They weren't told about the weight loss, the falls, or the increasing need for interventions. They were only told that their father was stable and that the restrictions were medically necessary.
By the end of August, even Tempie Bartell couldn't deny the reality of what was happening. In a call to hospice, she admitted that Russell had "increased agitation, aggression, hitting staff and falling more often."
This was a stunning admission from the facility owner who had spent months claiming that Russell improved when Patty wasn't present. Now she was acknowledging that, isolated from his wife and under chemical restraint, he was worse than ever---more agitated, more aggressive, falling more frequently.
But instead of recognizing this as evidence that the isolation was harmful, instead of questioning the medication regimen or considering reuniting Russell with his primary emotional support, Bartell's solution was to double down. The hospice nurse received verbal orders to increase the ABHR cream to four times daily.
The plan had failed catastrophically, but rather than admit error, the response was to intensify the very interventions that were destroying Russell.
While the guardians received sanitized reports about their father's "stability," the reality inside Nadine's Nest was horrifying. Whistleblower testimony would later reveal that Russell was experiencing:
Former facility manager Elisha Callahand would later comment in an interview about her desperate attempts to get Russell appropriate care. She had repeatedly told Bartell that Russell needed placement in a locked facility designed for his level of dementia, but Bartell's response was always the same: increase the medication.
"I didn't need him drugged. I need him somewhere that can take care of him," Callahand recalled telling Bartell. But proper placement would mean losing money and required admitting that Nadine's Nest wasn't equipped to handle Russell's needs. Chemical restraint was income and cover.
Lisa Nice, another former manager, revealed the systematic use of medications to sabotage visits. She observed "increased use of Lorazepam to sedate Russell, particularly before scheduled visits with Patty," ensuring he would appear groggy and unresponsive when his wife arrived.
Nice was unequivocal in her assessment: she "never saw any correlation" between Patty's visits and increased agitation. She observed severe neglect, including finding Russell soaked in urine and feces after weekends, leading to pneumonia diagnoses that were ignored by other staff. Crucially, she confirmed the tactic of sabotage: "There were times that I can recall in the progress notes that they would premedicate him knowing that Patty was coming."
Nearly two and a half months into Russell's isolation, something happened that should have shattered the facility's entire narrative. During a brief, supervised visit, a hospice nurse documented an observation that revealed the true nature of Russell's relationship with his wife:
"PT BECAME TEARY EYED, ACCEPTED A KISS FROM WIFE AFTER 2ND ATTEMPT"
This wasn't the reaction of a man who was agitated by his wife's presence. This was the emotional response of someone who had been forcibly separated from his life partner and was overwhelmed to see her again. The tears, the acceptance of affection, the clear emotional connection---all of it contradicted months of reports that Russell was "better" without Patty.
Any competent healthcare provider witnessing this scene would have questioned the entire premise of the isolation. If Russell was truly improved by his wife's absence, why was he tearful and emotional when she returned? If her visits were harmful, why did he accept her kiss and show such clear signs of missing her?
Two days after Russell's emotional response to seeing his wife, the facility's documentation revealed how thoroughly the false narrative had become institutionalized. Despite what the nurse had witnessed, the record stated: "CAREGIVERS REPORT PATIENT BECOMES HOSTILE AND PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE WITH CAREGIVERS AND WITH OTHER RESIDENTS FOLLOWING SUCH PREVIOUSLY STATED VISITS"
This wasn't based on observation---it was automatic repetition of the established lie. Even when the evidence clearly contradicted the narrative, certain hospice employees document the required story. The deception had become so ingrained that it persisted regardless of reality.
In October 2024, Russell was transferred to Wildflower Lodge. What happened there would provide the most powerful validation of everything Patty had been saying.
Kelly Frias, LPN and Wellness Director at Wildflower Lodge, sent an urgent letter to the hospice provider on November 7, 2024. She documented that the medication regimen from Nadine's Nest left Russell "so sedated that he could not open his eyes and had to be spoon fed," causing four falls in three days.
Frias identified the drug Lamotrigine as the cause. When the drug was stopped, Russell "greatly improved." Her letter concluded with a direct rebuke of the previous care philosophy: "We don't use medication to a level of sedation to control behaviors at Wildflower Lodge."
This professional assessment from an independent facility confirmed everything: Russell's decline wasn't from his wife's visits or from Alzheimer's progression. It was from inappropriate medication management designed to control rather than care.
Throughout Russell's decline, the agency meant to protect him was engaged in what appeared to be a strategic delay. DHS Investigation ID: 00362508 reveals a stunning pattern:
Between these dates was a 94-day gap---a clear violation of Oregon Administrative Rule 411-020-0025, which mandates investigations be completed within 60 days. There was no evidence of "good cause" for an extension.
The timing was crucial. By closing the case on January 27th with an "unsubstantiated" finding, DHS created an official record stating the facility was not at fault. Had the investigator waited two more days, Russell's death would have transformed the case into a potential death investigation.
Analysis of the 36 documented visits before the lockout revealed the truth that the guardians never knew: 94.4% of Patty's visits had no documented problems. The overwhelming evidence showed a husband who was consistently described as being in a "great mood" after seeing his wife, who would "laugh and joke" during her visits, who would often take peaceful naps afterward.
Audio recordings captured Russell telling Patty, "I am damn glad to see you," and asking hopefully, "Are you going to take me home?"
These weren't the words of a man who was agitated by his wife's presence. They were the words of a man who loved her desperately and was confused about why he couldn't go home with her.
Throughout Russell's decline, professionals who could have exposed the truth were systematically excluded or ignored. Jody Bullock, with 21 years of foster care experience and zero abuse findings, had identified clear neglect and violations of resident rights. Selina Shaffer, an experienced RN, had diagnosed the "cycle of misinformation and corrupt power" and challenged the use of chemical restraints over proper behavioral interventions.
Kelly Ivey, Russell's niece, provided a sworn affidavit correcting the record after Tempie Bartell blatantly lied about her visit. Bartell testified that Ivey left early because Russell became "tense and anxious." Ivey clarified that this was "completely untrue"; she had been discussing her own mother's dementia, and her visit with Russell ended warmly. Bartell weaponized this fabricated account to justify the 30-minute visitation limits imposed by the court.
But their professional assessments were dismissed as bias or personal opinion, while the manufactured reports from Nadine's Nest staff were treated as expert medical judgment.
The most tragic irony was that Russell's death proved everything Patty had been saying was true. She had insisted that her husband was being over-medicated. She had argued that he needed her presence, not her absence. She had claimed that the facility was misrepresenting his condition and needs.
Every accusation she had made, every concern she had raised, every plea she had issued was validated by the outcome. Russell died exactly as she had predicted he would if kept away from her and subjected to inappropriate chemical restraints.
But by the time the truth became undeniable, it was too late to save either Russell or the family that had been destroyed by trusting the wrong professionals.
The guardians had been turned into weapons against their own father, convinced they were protecting him while actually participating in his destruction. They would have to live with this knowledge for the rest of their lives, victims of a manipulation so thorough that it had made them complicit in the very tragedy they were trying to prevent.
Russell Bingaman died not from Alzheimer's disease, but from the systematic betrayal of everyone he should have been able to trust---everyone except the wife who had fought for him until the very end.
Russell Bingaman died on January 29, 2025, taking with him the immediate urgency that had driven the lies. But death has a way of loosening tongues, and the elaborate deception that had destroyed the Bingaman family began to unravel as the people who had witnessed it from the inside finally found the courage to speak.
The truth emerged not all at once, but in devastating pieces---testimonies from former employees, document analysis revealing systematic deception, professional witnesses confirming illegal actions, and ultimately, the guardians' horrifying realization that they had been turned into weapons against their own father.
Russell Bingaman died two days after a whitewashed DHS investigation was closed. He died on January 29, 2025---the very day a court hearing was scheduled to consider the appointment of Selina Shaffer as his independent, third-party guardian.
The appointment of Shaffer would have been a doomsday scenario for the Union County Nexus. She was not a grieving, easily manipulated family member. She was a highly qualified medical professional with 30 years of experience, an expert witness who had already testified in the case, and a firsthand witness to the illegal lockout at Nadine's Nest. Her appointment would have given her the legal authority to open every record and the expert knowledge to understand the full scope of the fraud and neglect.
The timeline of Russell's final days, when cross-referenced with the court schedule, is chilling in its precision:
His death was the ultimate resolution. It rendered the guardianship hearing moot. It prevented the one person with the expertise to expose the entire scheme from ever gaining access.
Lisa Nice had worked as a manager at Nadine's Nest for ten months, caring directly for Russell during some of the most crucial periods of his decline. After his death, she could no longer remain silent about what she had witnessed.
Her testimony shattered the central pillar of the facility's narrative: that Russell was agitated by his wife's visits.
"Staff were instructed to document negative behaviors after Patty's visits, regardless of whether such behaviors were related to the visit," Nice revealed. The documentation that had convinced the guardians and medical providers wasn't based on observation---it was based on instruction to create false evidence.
More importantly, Nice testified about Russell's actual response to seeing his wife: "Russell was always delighted to see her."
This wasn't the confused rambling of someone trying to be kind. This was professional testimony from someone who had cared for Russell daily, who had observed him before, during, and after hundreds of interactions. In Nice's professional assessment, Russell loved seeing his wife and was consistently happy when she visited.
Nice also revealed the systematic use of medication to sabotage visits: "Increased use of Lorazepam to sedate Russell, particularly before scheduled visits with Patty." The facility wasn't just lying about Russell's reactions to visits---they were actively drugging him to create the appearance of problems.
Nice ultimately quit when Tempie Bartell attempted to prohibit Patty from providing personal care---care that Patty often provided more effectively than the staff.
Perhaps even more damning was the testimony of Elisha Callahand, another former manager who had worked directly with Russell and had repeatedly tried to get him appropriate care.
Callahand's revelation struck at the heart of Bartell's claimed motivation: "She specifically told me that she sent a move out order to his attorney so that they could stop. They could immediately stop Patty from coming. It wasn't to protect Russell, it was to stop Patty from coming. She's a liar."
This was devastating testimony. The move-out order that had forced the guardians to choose between their father's housing and their mother's visits hadn't been about Russell's wellbeing at all. It had been a calculated tool to eliminate Patty from the equation.
Callahand also exposed the facility's fundamental incompetence and Bartell's priorities. She had repeatedly told Bartell that Russell needed placement in a locked facility designed for his level of dementia care. Bartell's response was always the same: increase the medication.
"That is one of the times that she called Hospice while I was gone for the weekend, met Hospice at the house, and that's when they made the decision to up the cream to four times a day," Callahand testified. "And I was like, that's not... This is not how I wanted this. Like I didn't need him drugged. I need him somewhere that can take care of him."
The testimony revealed a facility owner who chose chemical restraint over appropriate placement because it was cheaper, easier, and more profitable. Russell's needs were secondary to Bartell's convenience.
Callahand also confirmed that staff logs provided to the court were altered and missing pages, specifically noting that entries where Patty successfully assisted with Russell's care were removed.
While witness testimony provided context and motivation, the documentary evidence provided incontrovertible proof of systematic deception.
The most shocking example was the fabricated fall story. The guardians' log showed they were told: "Dad fell - Patty changed his clothes yesterday - He fell shortly after she left."
But the facility's internal log told a completely different story: "4:30 AM resident was on the floor sitting up in front of his TV. I heard a Big Bang and went in and found him there."
Russell had fallen at 4:30 AM. Patty didn't visit until 11:20 AM---seven hours later. The facility had deliberately lied to create a false causal connection between Patty's care and Russell's fall. This wasn't a mistake or miscommunication; it was fabricated evidence designed to blame Patty for a medical event that occurred when she wasn't even present.
Analysis of the facility's logs revealed another disturbing pattern: at least nine days of logs were completely missing from the records provided to the court and family. These weren't random omissions---they were systematic gaps that corresponded to periods when Patty's visits had gone well or when Russell had exhibited positive behaviors.
Nice confirmed that staff were routinely instructed to alter or omit records, especially notes that might make the facility look bad or contradict the anti-Patty narrative.
Perhaps most revealing was what the documentation revealed about false crisis reports. The guardians' log showed multiple instances where they were told about "awful reactions" to Patty's visits that appeared nowhere in the facility's internal logs.
On May 29, 2024, for example, the guardians' log shows Tempie reporting an "awful reaction" to a long visit from Patty. But this crisis doesn't exist in any of the facility's internal documentation for that day or surrounding days. It was a communication designed solely to reinforce the anti-Patty narrative, not a description of actual events.
The truth that emerged also vindicated the professional witnesses who had tried to warn the guardians during Russell's lifetime.
Selina Shaffer, the registered nurse who had witnessed the illegal lockout, had diagnosed the situation with remarkable accuracy: "It appeared to me the allegations from care facility staff to Russell's children have become a cycle of misinformation and corrupt power."
Her professional assessment that the children were "being provided with inaccurate and credible information" and that they were "innocently looking at Nadine's Nest staff as experts in dementia care" proved to be precisely correct.
Most importantly, her challenge about chemical restraints---"I would like Patty to receive validation that reasonable attempts for behavior modification are being offered, outside of chemical restraints"---identified exactly what was happening. The facility was using drugs instead of proper dementia care techniques.
In her October 9, 2024 email formally documenting her experience, Shaffer stated unequivocally: "I have never encountered a care facility with a locked front door." She then confronted DHS officials Eric Stone and Aaron Lennox, challenging their justification for the lockout. She was a direct witness to the illegal seclusion and the agency's complicity.
Jody Bullock, with her 21 years of foster care experience and zero abuse findings, had immediately recognized multiple violations during her visits with Russell. Her professional assessment of neglect---"filthy, dirty fingernails," "mess in his britches," overgrown toenails---was confirmed by Russell's rapid decline after the lockout.
Her testimony about successful redirection techniques also proved prophetic. She had demonstrated that Russell could be calmed and managed through proper dementia care approaches, not through chemical restraint.
Most significantly, her observation about Russell's response to visits proved accurate: "I found that it was helpful to have family there." The facility's claim that family presence was harmful was contradicted by a professional with decades of relevant experience.
Bullock witnessed the family conflict firsthand and testified that Russell was "happy to see her [Patty]" and only became agitated when his son, Shawn, intervened and demanded Patty leave.
The most powerful validation came from Kelly Frias at Wildflower Lodge. Her November 7, 2024 letter to the hospice provider documented that the medication regimen from Nadine's Nest left Russell "so sedated that he could not open his eyes and had to be spoon fed," causing four falls in three days.
When the drug Lamotrigine was stopped, Russell "greatly improved." Her letter concluded with a direct rebuke: "We don't use medication to a level of sedation to control behaviors at Wildflower Lodge."
This independent assessment from another facility confirmed everything---Russell's decline wasn't from his wife's visits but from inappropriate medication management.
Perhaps the most damning piece of evidence came from Russell's own attorney. In a December 20, 2024 email, Wyatt Baum admitted that healthcare providers had placed the "six-month" terminal prognosis specifically "to enable hospice" even while his clients were "unaware of any diagnosis" that qualified Russell.
This was a timestamped acknowledgment from the guardians' own attorney that he knew the hospice qualification was fraudulent. The terminal diagnosis that had justified the chemical restraint protocol was based on manufactured medical necessity, not legitimate clinical assessment.
Baum had also engaged in coercive financial manipulation. His May 8, 2024 email to Patricia's attorney linked resolution of the visitation conflict to a significant property transaction: "Your client has noted to my clients that she is running low on money. To that end, my clients would be willing to purchase the Deal property from her..."
The proposed structure---three $250,000 promissory notes at 11% interest with a "no prepayment" clause---would have locked Patty into twenty years of payments, preventing her from accessing her property equity when she needed it most.
Investigation revealed that Aaron Lennox's claim to Selina Shaffer about "policy analysts in Salem" reviewing and validating the spousal restrictions was completely false. No such review had occurred, no such authority existed, and Lennox knew it.
The guardians had been told they had state government backing for their actions, but this was another fabrication designed to give them confidence in taking illegal steps.
Pharmacy records confirmed that Tempie Bartell had prescribed medications for Russell, including Levofloxacin in November 2022 and Chlorpromazine in June 2024. As a facility owner without prescribing authority for residents in her own facility, these actions constituted a profound conflict of interest.
The illegal prescription of Chlorpromazine was particularly significant because it was used to create the sedated state that led to Russell's fraudulent terminal diagnosis.
On the very day of Russell's admission, February 21, 2022, the facility's response to his distress was documented: "ALICIA NEEDS A SIGNED MEDICATION LIST, COMFORT KIT AND ORDER AND POLST. SHE IS HOPING FOR THE COMFORT KIT TO BE DELIVERED AND WE DISCUSS THE USE OF HALOPERIDOL IF NEEDED TO HELP PATIENT WITH AGITATION FOR THE NIGHT."
Her immediate request for Haloperidol wasn't a clinical decision made as an independent provider; it was a management decision made by a facility owner to control a resident who was predictably agitated by being imprisoned.
Analysis of the facility's own logs revealed the mathematical reality that the guardians never knew: of 36 documented visits before the lockout, 94.4% had zero documented problems.
The logs that weren't hidden from the family revealed entries like:
Audio recordings captured Russell's actual words to his wife: "I am damn glad to see you... Glad, glad to see you" and his hopeful question, "Are you going to take me home?"
These weren't the words of a man agitated by his wife's presence. They were the words of a man who loved her desperately and was confused about why he couldn't be with her.
The truth that emerged also revealed the actual medical causes of Russell's behaviors---causes that had been systematically ignored in favor of blaming Patty.
The Clinical Correlation Statement provided a devastating analysis of how Russell's documented medical conditions explained every behavior that had been attributed to his wife's visits:
All of these conditions were treatable with proper medical management. Instead, they were ignored while Russell's symptoms were blamed on his wife's presence.
The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that the guardians of Russell Bingaman were not the architects of his isolation but the targets of a sophisticated manipulation campaign. They were systematically misled by a network of professionals operating within the insulated environment of the "Union County Nexus."
The children hadn't been receiving medical information---they had been receiving propaganda designed to turn them against their mother.
Every decision they had made thinking they were protecting their father had actually contributed to his suffering. Every restriction they had supported based on professional advice had actually isolated him from his primary source of comfort. Every time they had chosen to trust the facility over their own mother, they had been manipulated into participating in their father's destruction.
They had been loving, concerned children who wanted only to protect their father. They had trusted medical professionals, legal experts, and government officials. They had acted in good faith based on what they believed was expert guidance.
But they had been systematically deceived by people who understood exactly how to weaponize their love and concern.
In Russell's final, unresponsive hours, the hospice provider administered Azithromycin (an antibiotic) and documented it as a "family request." This was clinically absurd for a patient actively dying on hospice.
This act served two insidious purposes:
This final manipulation ensured that the grief of losing Russell was compounded by a manufactured conflict, turning the victims against each other and shielding the responsible parties.
The scope of the deception revealed failures at every level of the systems designed to protect vulnerable adults:
Healthcare Providers issued terminal diagnoses without proper evaluation, ignored documented medication sensitivities, and enabled chemical restraint protocols without question.
Legal Professionals facilitated illegal lockouts, misrepresented government authority, and applied financial pressure while concealing conflicts of interest.
Government Officials exceeded their authority, made false claims about policy validation, and failed to investigate clear abuse reports. The 94-day delay in the DHS investigation violated their own mandates and appeared strategically timed to close before Russell's death.
Adult Foster Care Oversight failed to identify a facility that was fundamentally unsafe and incompetent to provide the level of care they claimed to offer.
Each system that should have protected Russell instead became complicit in his abuse, either through active participation or willful blindness to obvious red flags.
Russell Bingaman died not from Alzheimer's disease, but from a systematic campaign of deception that turned his own children into weapons against him. He died isolated from the woman he had loved for sixty years, chemically restrained beyond any medical necessity, and defended by the very people who were destroying him.
The guardians were victims too---manipulated by professionals they trusted into participating in their father's destruction. Their tragedy is that they acted out of love and concern, but were so thoroughly deceived that their love became the instrument of their father's suffering.
Patty Bingaman was perhaps the greatest victim of all---blamed for medical conditions beyond her control, separated from her dying husband, gaslit about her legal rights, and forced to watch helplessly as the man she loved was destroyed by the very people claiming to care for him.
The professionals who orchestrated this destruction---Tempie Bartell, Wyatt Baum, and their enablers---exploited the trust placed in them by families in crisis. They used their positions of authority to create a false reality that served their interests while destroying the lives of the people they were supposedly helping.
This is the complete truth about the destruction of the Bingaman family---a cautionary tale about how professional manipulation can turn love into a weapon, how institutional authority can be used to facilitate abuse, and how the systems designed to protect our most vulnerable can become the very instruments of their destruction.
Russell Bingaman deserved better. His family deserved better. And every vulnerable adult in institutional care deserves the protection from such manipulation that Russell never received.
The truth has emerged, but it came too late to save him. The only hope now is that his story might save others from the same fate.