Two Employees Charged After WWII Veteran’s Death at Mississippi Facility

Two employees of a veterans home in Oxford, Mississippi, have been charged with manslaughter/culpable negligence in the April death of a 93-year-old resident, reports say.

The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson reported that Jeanee Dunn, 25, of Oxford and Bridget Austin, 41, of Abbeville, were charged in the 2017 death of Durley Bratton of Oxford.

Bratton was a veteran of World War II and was living at the 150-bed facility, but died at Regional One Trauma Center in Memphis, Tennessee, the newspaper reported. Bratton was a long-time resident of Tate County, just south of Memphis. He was a crew chief in the Army Air Corps, which later became the Air Force, duirng World War II. Bratton, according to online historical sites, was well known for painting the noses of bombers based on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, the AP reported.

Sgt. Durley Bratton, crew chief and artist from the 488th Bomb Squadron

Officials at Regional One Trauma Center contacted the Oxford Police Department about Bratton’s injuries, which led to an investigation on abuse related to his injuries.

Oxford Police Chief Joey East told The Associated Press on Tuesday that investigators suspected Dunn and Austin had dropped Bratton and then put him back in bed without telling anyone.

Results of an autopsy performed by the Mississippi Medical Examiner’s Office were returned July 2 and ruled Bratton’s death to be the result of blunt force trauma.

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Bridget Austin, left, and Jeanee Dunn.