The Northampton County grand jury report details a June 23, 2025, incident at Gracedale Nursing Home in Nazareth where repeated 911 calls went unanswered for 34 minutes before officers entered and found a nurse standing over a hospice resident with blood visible. The nurse, Octavia Lasha Robinson, was allegedly attempting to "drive demons" from the resident and was later held for psychiatric evaluation and charged with abuse, assault and harassment. The grand jury also flagged wider problems at Gracedale involving staffing, supervision and emergency response; county officials say reforms and new oversight are underway.
‘Exorcism’ Allegation at Gracedale: 34-Minute 911 Delay Before Officers Found Nurse Over Hospice Patient
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A Northampton County grand jury report reconstructs a troubling June 23, 2025, incident at Gracedale Nursing Home in Nazareth, where repeated 911 calls went unanswered for 34 minutes before officers entered a room and found an agency-licensed practical nurse standing over a hospice resident with blood visible on bedding and clothing.
What Investigators Found
According to the grand jury report, the nurse, identified as Octavia Lasha Robinson, was standing over a hospice resident listed as E.B. when officers entered the room. Body-camera footage reviewed by the grand jury shows Robinson with her fingers pressed into the resident’s mouth. Blood was visible on E.B.’s clothing and bedding and on items scattered on the floor.
Witnesses described Robinson’s actions as an apparent attempt to "drive demons" from the resident. The report says Robinson repeatedly referenced demonic possession as officers took her into custody.
Timeline of Calls and Response
The report reconstructs a 34-minute sequence of calls and responses:
- 2:53 a.m. — A Gracedale resident identified as L.K. called 911 and reported that a nurse on the seventh floor was "trying to kill people." The dispatcher contacted Gracedale supervisors and notified Upper Nazareth Officer Zachary Dugan.
- 3:00 a.m. — Records show Officer Dugan closed the call without responding to the facility.
- 3:05 a.m. — L.K. called again, saying the nurse was talking about "getting the demons out," would not let anyone leave the room and was trying to kill someone. Dugan was dispatched again at 3:08 a.m.
- 3:18 a.m. — L.K. called a third time to report no response. At 3:20 a.m., a dispatcher reached a Gracedale supervisor who said staff would contact L.K. and "take her phone away or something," the report states.
- 3:22 a.m. — A nursing supervisor placed a fourth call reporting that Robinson was acting erratically, refusing to leave the room and preventing others from entering or leaving.
- 3:25 a.m. — Multiple officers were dispatched. Officer Dugan arrived at Gracedale around 3:27 a.m., and Robinson was taken into custody at about 3:32 a.m.
Arrest, Evaluation and Charges
Body-camera footage shows officers ordered Robinson to remove her hand and step away; she did not immediately comply, prompting an officer to draw a Taser before she was taken into custody without further force. Robinson was held for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation and, after her release, criminal charges were filed. Northampton County trial records list charges including abuse of a care-dependent person, simple assault and harassment. Local reporting says her trial is scheduled for Oct. 5 before Judge John M. Morganelli.
Broader Inquiry and State Findings
The grand jury expanded its examination beyond the individual incident to review resident safety, staffing, security and emergency response at Gracedale. Separate Pennsylvania Department of Health inspection records later in 2025 documented serious supervision problems. A September inspection found an immediate-jeopardy deficiency after a resident with dementia left the facility twice within days, one instance occurring despite an order for one-to-one supervision when no replacement staff was available at shift end. An August inspection cited the home for failing to meet minimum nurse-aide staffing ratios on some shifts.
County Response and Reforms
After the grand jury report was filed, Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski said the findings raised serious concerns about care, safety, staffing, security and management systems at Gracedale. In a Sept. 10 statement, the county outlined corrective steps already underway: reducing reliance on outside staffing agencies, strengthening quality-assurance monitoring, reviewing security and emergency-response procedures, and increasing executive oversight of the nursing home.
The county also said it hired Thomas Carson as director of the Continuum of Care to provide focused oversight of Gracedale. Officials pledged additional updates for residents, families, employees and County Council as reforms are implemented.
Background: Gracedale is a 688-bed, county-owned long-term care facility. State records list it as operating under a Provisional II license.
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