Michigan man who brutally assaulted senior in nursing home has charges dropped

Jadon Hayden, now 22, was facing charges for an assault that took place in a Detroit nursing home in May of 2020. Hayden's charges were dismissed after a court found he was incompetent.

Hayden now resides in a psychiatric hospital in Kalamazoo, where he is not free to leave as he pleases.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said at the time of his arrest that the alleged actions of Hayden were "uniquely disturbing."

"We must be able to trust our loved ones in specialty care facilities. I truly hope that the facts of this case are one of a kind," said Prosecutor Worthy in 2020.

According to local news outlet WXYZ, Hayden was sharing a room with the victim, veteran Norman Bledsoe, 75, when he attacked him by repeatedly punching him in the head.

Hayden told nursing staff that Bledsoe had fallen out of his bed, causing the injury.

Hayden then allegedly posted video of the assault on his social media, and stole the victim's credit cards.

Hayden, though, will not be facing jail time, and will instead spend time in the mental health ward.

Hayden's father, Marty, said that sending his son to prison would have only exasperated the younger Hayden's mental health problems.

"So the system is going to fail him again. He's not going to be rehabilitated," said the father, who said that his son cannot understand the gravity of his actions.

He says that he hopes to find a lawyer that can hold to account those who decided that it was appropriate to put his mentally ill son next to Bledsoe.

"Why should you put him in a nursing home? All around elderly people," he said.

Marty said that his son had called him to tell him that he was hearing threatening voices, with Marty saying that his son was in "crisis mode" when he struck Bledsoe repeatedly in the face.

Marty Hayden says that putting his son in the room with the victim was a result of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer "dropping the ball." Whitmer has been criticized heavily for allowing nursing homes to accept those recovering from COVID-19, which was why Jadon was in the facility in the first place.

"Why would they put my my child in a nursing home," he said.

Jadon Hayden's attorney, Brian Berry, said that all those involved in making the decisions to put his client in the facility with Bledsoe "should have known."

"I think the facility had an idea of who Jadon was and what type of treatment he needed. I think they knew, or had a history, that he was schizophrenic and it should have been handled differently," he said. "Jadon's condition is not going to change very much," he said. "Unfortunately, both the victim in this case and the defendant were both in put in a bad situation."

Bledsoe died two months after the assault, though his death was not ruled a homicide.