New interrogation tapes released in Hacienda Healthcare rape investigation

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona’s Family has obtained hours of interrogation video from one of the most disturbing cases the state has witnessed.

The Hacienda Healthcare rape investigation from 2018 involved a patient who couldn’t talk or move but gave birth.

The staff reportedly had no idea she was even pregnant, and detectives later arrested her nurse, Nathan Sutherland, who was a DNA match to the baby. New footage shows the moment police confronted Sutherland. .

The case gained international attention at the beginning of 2019 when we learned a longtime patient of Hacienda Healthcare in south Phoenix gave birth inside the facility just after Christmas in 2018, and the staff did not know she was pregnant until she went into labor.

For weeks after the incident, Phoenix Police interviewed many employees, trying to get to the bottom of who would have had access to the patient and what medical signs were missed or overlooked by staff.

Eventually, DNA was linked to one of the facility’s nurses, Nathan Sutherland. He took a plea deal and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

While employees were open with the detective in interrogation videos, Sutherland immediately asks for an attorney

Bill Timmons, the longtime CEO at the time, was questioned by detectives. It was the first time we’ve ever heard his account at all.

The new CEO, Perry Petrilli, had also been at the facility for many years.

He told police there were only windows of 15 minutes that someone could have had uninterrupted access to the patient before other staff would come around, which led to suspicion of an internal rapist.

Before Sutherland was identified and arrested, we now know his name did come up in the investigation after a parent brought concerns to Petrilli and other management.

Petrilli sent Arizona’s Family the following statement:

“This tragic incident, which happened in 2018, remains heartbreaking for all of us at Hacienda Healthcare. To this day, our hearts are with this resident and her family.

What happened in this case motivated us to change virtually everything about how we protect and care for Hacienda’s residents. We cooperated to the fullest extent possible with investigators and police. And we have made it our mission to ensure nothing like this happens again - ever - and to make sure our families and their loved ones  feel safe and protected every minute of every day.

While can never change the past, we are proud of the Hacienda of today and of all the many team members who have worked tirelessly for years to make these comprehensive changes to earn back the respect of the families and communities we serve.”

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