A family from Southern Manitoba is looking for answers after their loved one was allegedly assaulted by a nurse at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach. Catherine Wares says in May of 2024, her cousin Jake Neufeld of Steinbach had a brain aneurysm, and a couple of weeks later suffered a stroke. Wares says he was fortunate to survive. She notes that in August of last year, Neufeld was transferred from Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg to Bethesda. "He was in a really tough spot," she says. "He was very vulnerable, bedridden, he couldn't walk, he couldn't see, he needed full care." Wares says the mother of Neufeld's children messaged her one morning and said the evening nurse at the hospital had smothered him with a pillow. Wares alleges that there was a health care aid in the room who witnessed the incident. She claims another nurse noticed that the door to Neufeld's room was closed, which is not supposed to happen, and walked in to find "the nurse holding the pillow that she had just smothered Jake with." According to Wares, this incident happened on September 25, 2024. Police say a report was made to Steinbach RCMP on September 26, 2024. Fifty-year-old Tammy Freynet from the Rural Municipality of Hanover has been charged with assault with a weapon. Police confirm the victim is a 45-year-old male from Steinbach. Southern Health Sante Sud has issued the following statement: "The organization cannot discuss matters involving the care of an individual due to privacy legislation, but can confirm there are policies in place to ensure any incidents affecting the care and well-being of the patient are thoroughly investigated and reported to the relevant authorities." According to Manitoba Courts, Freynet's next court date is scheduled for November 7, 2025, in Steinbach Provincial Court. Wares says this entire ordeal has been very traumatic on the family, especially Neufeld. "He was pretty much as vulnerable as you can be; he couldn't lunge at her, he couldn't even see her, he was blind at the time," she says. "It just feels unreal. We just really want some answers from her as to why and what happened." According to Wares, her cousin was eventually transferred to Selkirk Regional Health Centre, where he is receiving wonderful care. She says he has his vision back, and she feels he is starting to do better. With files from Kenton Dyck