Atlanta Hospital Nurse Arrested for Sexually Assaulting 73-Year-Old Grandmother Weeks Before Her Death

_{A former Grady Memorial Hospital nurse has been arrested and charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 73-year-old grandmother who was in her final weeks.}

_{Chappel Lee was arrested on Thursday and is facing rape, abuse, neglect or exploitation of a disabled or elderly person, aggravated sexual battery, two counts of aggravated sodomy and tampering with evidence charges, according to warrants. Lee is accused of raping and sexually assaulting Eva Lay in a patient room in October 2024.}

_{Lay was hospitalized initially with congestive heart failure. She passed away a few weeks after the incident due to issues unrelated to the incident. Attorneys Reginald Greene and L. Chris Stewart stated the incident turned her final weeks upside down and caused a “downward spiral in her mental health.”}

_{In a statement released by attorneys after the arrest, the lawyers said the family was “pleased” that Lee was arrested for “the horrific abuse perpetrated against her.” The statement painted a picture of the woman Stewart was: “Eva Lay was a mother, grandmother and loved by her community. She deserved dignity, care and respect but instead was violated by the very individual entrusted to protect her and on her journey back to health.”}

_{The arrest comes after a civil lawsuit was filed against Grady Hospital in Fulton County last month. Stewart previously cited an Atlanta Police incident report when he brought up the nurse tech telling the registered nurse overseeing Lay that he would volunteer to see to Lay’s needs. According to the police report, the nurse said it was abnormal that the tech would request to check on patients. Lay’s family stated that they noticed the tech would flirt with the grandmother.}

_{“He was gone for nearly 15 minutes alone in the room with Ms. Lay,” Stewart previously said. “There’s also video evidence of him cleaning up the scene, taking evidence from the sheets and getting rid of them.” Stewart said Lay told her family about the assault the next day and recorded a video he hopes will be played during a jury trial. The lawsuit claims Grady Hospital was negligent in properly hiring, training and supervising its employees and failed to protect its most vulnerable patients.}

_{The statement released by attorneys on Saturday continued as under:}