Two paramedics who were called out to save a man’s life have now been charged with his murder. Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 40, are facing first-degree murder charges in relation to the death of 35-year-old Earl Moore Jr. on December 18, 2022, Fox 5 reports. Instead of being saved by the first responders, Moore was asphyxiated after they strapped him face-down to a gurney for more than 45 minutes.
Moore was said to have been in medical distress at his home, and while the EMTs should have been trained on proper positioning, they still chose to place Moore in such a way that they knew he would either be extremely harmed or even die. Moore was apparently an extreme alcoholic but hadn’t had a drink in days when he dialed 911 needing help. A woman who answered the door at his residence told the paramedics that Moore had begun hallucinating. “Every time I take him to the hospital, all they do is release him,” she said in bodycam footage. “He’s seeing stuff that’s not there and hearing voices in his head.”
Peter Cadigan and Peggy Finley were arrested in Sangamon County, Illinois after it was revealed they’d put Moore face-down on the stretcher with a medical strap across his back while taking him to the hospital. Moore was unable to breathe and eventually died because of it.
An autopsy revealed that Moore passed away from “compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone face-down restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across the back,” according to Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. The coroner ruled the death a homicide.
Cadigan and Finley have been booked into Snagamon County Jail on $1 million bond each. Both face first-degree murder charges and could spend up to 60 years in prison if convicted. The investigation remains ongoing and more charges may follow.
