LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Disturbing video found on a victim’s phone put Lafayette investigators on the trail of an unrelated, elder abuse case at a Louisiana nursing home.

The elder abuse investigation, so far, has resulted in one arrested, one wanted suspect and a lawsuit from the elderly victim’s family.

According to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, the first arrest was made in late March. Christal Howard, 34, was charged with simple assault, cruelty to the infirmed, simple battery of the infirm and hate crimes.

The second suspect, 33-year-old Dontrielle Harris, is wanted on charges of cruelty to the infirmed and two counts of non-consensual disclosure of a private image, the sheriff’s office said.

The family’s lawsuit against the nursing home and the two suspects was filed in December.

According to the lawsuit, the two suspects were certified nursing assistants employed by the facility.

‘It was my mother’

Patricia Verdugo, the daughter of an elderly woman at the nursing home, told NewsNation affiliate KLFY that she was approached by a detective with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office in November about the elder abuse investigation.

In an attempt to identify the patient, investigators showed Verdugo and her sisters a video of an elderly woman being hit by nursing home workers, Verdugo said. It turned out to be their mother.

“My sister, and I immediately went there. We viewed the pictures and the videos and indeed identified it was my mother,” she said.

Verdugo told KLFY that “there was a murder investigation that had nothing to do with out situation,” but the video of her mother was found on the murder victim’s phone.

Verdugo said it was extremely hard to watch videos of her mother being hit and abused.

After seeing the videos, Verdugo’s family filed a lawsuit against the nursing home and the two workers allegedly involved.

Verdugo said it’s hurtful to know her mother, who suffers from dementia, was treated poorly.

“The nursing home’s attorneys think that this isn’t a big deal because she doesn’t remember what happened, and it is a big deal. Whether she remembers it or not,” Verdugo said.

Verdugo said she feels regret about not knowing what her mother was experiencing while living at the facility, saying she believed she and her sisters did their homework when it came to researching nursing homes.

Verdugo said this entire experience has caused her concern for her mother’s wellbeing while she continues to live at the nursing home. Since her family was made aware of the videos, cameras have been installed in her mother’s room to make sure everything is being watched, Verdugo said.

The reason she is speaking out now is because she wants people to know this could happen to anyone, and to be as cautious as possible when trusting a loved one in the care of others.

“For the families, you know, that have family in any kind of nursing home or anything, like pay attention, be there, be on top of things, talk to people. Because I guarantee you, it’s happening everywhere,” Verdugo said.

KLFY reached out to the nursing home in an attempt to get a comment. The nursing home has not yet provided a response.

The lawsuit

The lawsuit alleges the video was found on a phone belonging to the boyfriend of one of the suspects.

The family claims in the lawsuit that the two suspects were not properly trained and hold no certified nurse assistant licensure from the state.

“A routine criminal record check and/or background check on either Christal Howard or Dontrielle Harris would have revealed that these defendants were not only unqualified to be employed as CNAs but posed a serious threat to nursing home residents,” the lawsuit read.

Among other things, the family is accusing the nursing home, Howard and Harris of negligence and breach of contract.