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SALT LAKE CITY — A Taylorsville woman is facing criminal charges three years after her son's death, accusing her of taking her vulnerable adult son out of the hospital against the recommendation of doctors and placing him in hospice care — even though the son was not terminally ill.
The charges come just six months after another criminal case against Mandalina Marie Markovina, 51, was dismissed without prejudice after she was determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial and unrestorable, according to court records.
Markovina was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and communications fraud, second-degree felonies.
Her son, Gabriel Marcus Groves, 19, had a history of "craniopharyngioma, epileptic seizures and non-epileptic seizure-like events, autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay." He was dependent on a feeding tube for adequate nutrition, and care for him "included intensive intervention," according to charging documents, but "Gabriel's life expectancy was not anticipated to be significantly reduced" by these challenges.
In March 2021, Groves was admitted to Primary Children's Hospital with an E. coli infection which led to "serious complications." Groves' doctor reported the infection "may have been preventable with a hygienic environment and/or appropriate caregiver supervision," the charges state.
On May 9, 2021, despite Groves' "fragile medical condition," he was taken from the hospital against the advice of doctors, according to the charges. Family members allegedly claimed they were just taking Groves for a walk.
"That was the last time any of the (hospital) providers saw (the boy)," the court documents state.
The medical team treating Groves "had serious concerns of imminent risk of harm, up to and including death," the charges say. The team reached out to police after Groves was taken from the hospital to conduct a welfare check. But when officers went to the address listed for Groves' home, it was vacant.
After taking her son out of the hospital, Markovina placed him on hospice. But according to a doctor at Primary Children's Hospital, Groves "had no condition which would make him eligible for hospice and that she and the provider team were shocked to hear that (he) had been on hospice before he died," according to the charges. Markovina had allegedly "pushed for hospice care for years but had been told that (her son) was not terminally ill."
Before being placed on hospice, Markovina took Groves swimming for two days in a row, according to investigators. During that time, he jumped off the high dive.
"(Markovina) told (the boy's father) that one of (Groves') wishes was to swim before he died," the charges state.
Markovina also claimed she had a discussion with Groves about dying, and when his gastrointestinal bleeding was discovered, Groves did not wish to have it treated, according to the charges. Groves' father told investigators, however, he does not believe his son "had the mental capacity to make that decision."
Charging documents indicate Groves' gastrointestinal bleeding "increased substantially after swimming."
While in hospice care, intestinal bleeding was discovered. But Markovina "told the hospice doctor that (Gabriel) would not survive another surgery and declined medical procedures," according to the court documents.
State doctors, however, say there was nothing in Groves' record suggesting he would not survive another surgery.
"The Division of Child and Family Services reported receiving numerous complaints regarding (Markovina), including that (she) was obtaining unnecessary medical procedures for (Gabriel) and his sibling, allegedly becoming aggressive, demanding, and verbally rough when she did not get what she wanted," the charges state.
Gabriel died July 19, 2021.
The charging documents indicate about three weeks before Gabriel died, Markovina applied for a $300,000 life insurance policy and on the application, she "provided inaccurate information about (Groves') medical history and condition."
In 2021, Markovina was charged with four court counts of insurance fraud and engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, second-degree felonies. At the time, Markovina was the owner of Mind and Body Integration, 1972 W. 5400 South, and was a licensed clinical mental health counselor. She was accused of billing insurance companies for services never provided to clients.
In September, however, those charges were dismissed after it was determined that Markovina was not competent to stand trial and "unrestorable," court records state.
