Court docs: No one was monitoring security cameras, intercom system during attack on Froedtert nurse
Carlie Beaudin
WAUWATOSA -- It took two hours for help to arrive for Carlie Beaudin, the Froedtert nurse practitioner killed in a hospital parking garage on Jan. 25, yet surveillance cameras were rolling when Beaudin was attacked as she walked toward her vehicle early that Friday morning.
It appears no one was monitoring the security cameras in the parking garage, and court documents revealed no one was answering the hospital's intercom system either.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 5, video of the attack remained in the possession of law enforcement, but in court documents, prosecutors detailed the disturbing events depicted in the footage.
At 1 a.m. on Jan. 25, according to a criminal complaint filed against Kenneth Freeman, cameras recorded him knocking Beaudin to the ground, kicking or stomping her head and neck 40 times in Parking Structure 5. Cameras then showed Beaudin's vehicle entering Parking Structure 1, before it was ultimately driven out of view.
Carlie Beaudin (Daisy Foundation), Kenneth Freeman
Debra Mertens
Patients like Debra Mertens and her husband called the incident unsettling.
"It's scary. It's really scary. They should be monitoring the cameras too, all the time. This shouldn't have happened to her," they said.
It wasn't until 3 a.m. that someone noticed Beaudin in distress. According to prosecutors, an individual hired to remove snow discovered Beaudin under a vehicle at the top of the structure. He "attempted to use the intercom system near the elevator to get help," but "did not receive a response." Instead, he called his boss, who contacted Froedtert security.
Froedtert Hospital Parking Structure 5
Froedtert Hospital Parking Structure 1
A Froedtert spokesperson said four full-time Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies are on campus at all times. It's unclear why no security personnel checked on the parking structure during that two-hour window.
"I believe that, because when I'm in the parking lot, I don't see a lot of security walking around, and I'm in and out. Sometimes I take 30 minutes," said Mertens.
Homicide investigation at Froedtert Hospital parking structure
In a statement on the surveillance and intercom issues, a Froedtert spokesperson said "we're not able to answer questions because this is an active investigation."
Since the incident, FOX6 News was told security has been upgraded to include 24/7 patrols in each parking area.
Kenneth Freeman, 27, of Milwaukee faces one count of first degree intentional homicide in Beaudin's death. He made his initial appearance in court Saturday, Feb. 2, and cash bond was set at $500,000. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Feb. 8.