Former Superintendent of Holyoke Soldiers’ Home expected to change plea

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Bennett Walsh, the former superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers Home is expected to change his plea in court on Tuesday as he is accused of mishandling the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the facility in 2020.

Laurie Mandeville Beaudette lost her father James, one of 84 veterans who died in that 2020 outbreak.

After hearing about a plea bargain on the table, she told Western Mass News she and others who lost loved ones at that time are outraged.

“It’s infuriating to all of the family members,” said Beaudette. “We’re all extremely upset.”

Strong emotions coming from Beaudette, who spoke with us to express her concerns about Tuesday’s upcoming hearing at Hampshire Superior Court. Bennett Walsh, the former superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers Home is facing five charges of neglect.

He along with former medical director Dr. David Clinton are accused of mishandling 2020′s deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the facility, which took the life of Beaudette’s 83-year-old father Jim.

Beaudette planning to write a victim impact statement to the court, which she fears will not change anything.

“Unfortunately, the only person that’s going to be privied to those impact statements is the judge,” added Beaudette. “And we don’t even know for sure if he’s even going to bother to read them.”

At the hearing on Tuesday, the Attorney General’s office is expected to ask Walsh be sentenced to a year of home confinement and three years probation.

Walsh, however, will be asking for a continuance of his sentence without a finding.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the judge in this hearing signaled he would accept his recommendation, which would include the former Soldiers Home Superintendent admitting there were sufficient facts to find him guilty of all charges.

As for the terms of the court’s order, Walsh would not be present at the Soldiers Home without permission, not have any contact with the victims’ families and must not work in a nursing home.

Beaudette told us victims’ family members who were in a teleconference with the Attorney General’s office last week are angry that they may not get justice, said this bargain is not close to a slap on the wrist and “disgusting.”

“Usually, if someone says that they’re guilty and they plead guilty, they get some type of punishment,” said Beaudette. “There’s no punishment in this case. Not with a quaff. It’s a very lenient plea bargain, and essentially after three months, he’s not going to have a record.”

Beaudette said her father, a Korean war veteran, served four years in the U.S. Navy and stayed at the Soldiers Home for 17 years.

She remembers him as a loving father and grandfather who loved playing cards. Knowing what could be happening on Tuesday, she acknowledges her idea of justice.

“The minimum justice that I feel he should have would be to be banned from the veterans home, which is the former Soldiers Home in Holyoke, for good,” expressed Beaudette. “Forever. He should not be allowed on that hallow ground because so many veterans died due to the poor decisions that he made along with Dr. David Clinton.”

Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Hampshire Superior Court, where Walsh’s attorneys will address the media soon after.