Prosecutors refile charges against Casper caregiver accused of tying patient’s head to a bed
CASPER (WNE) - Natrona County prosecutors on Thursday refiled abuse of vulnerable adult and false imprisonment charges against a Casper caregiver, two days after a judge dismissed the charges because of a procedural mishap.
Julie Cross, 50, is accused of tying a patient’s head to her bed to stop her from moving, according to an affidavit filed with the charges.
At the time, Cross was working the night shift at NOWCAP Services, a north Casper caregiving facility, according to witness testimony and court papers.
Judge Nichole Collier tossed the case Tuesday after the prosecution’s witness, Casper Police Officer Sarah Price, admitted on the stand to not having met or seen the defendant.
Standard procedure in a preliminary hearing requires the prosecution’s witnesses to identify the defendant and establish how they are able to recognize the defendant.
That element is usually met by officers meeting the accused directly through arrests, interviews or security footage or images that have been corroborated by a third party who knows the defendant.
An officer on the stand will typically indicate the defendant’s presence by stating where they are seated and a note about their clothing.
Through her investigation, Price spoke to Cross over the phone and interviewed other staff at NOWCAP but didn’t actually meet Cross, because Cross turned herself in after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Assistant District Attorney Patrick LeBrun went through an entire line of questioning Tuesday before asking Price to identify Cross in the courtroom.
After realizing the error, he attempted a couple of follow-ups before saying “I guess that’s the best I can do” and returning to his seat.
Collier dismissed the case before the defense cross-examined Price.
She did so without prejudice, which left the door open for prosecutors to refile the charges.
The allegations
Price responded to NOWCAP services on July 14 after nurses on the morning shift reported they found a resident tied to her bed.
An attendant told authorities she arrived at work that morning and found a female patient with her pants down and around her knees while doing her rounds.
While pulling them up, the staff member noticed the patient’s head was tied to her bedframe by a blue scarf, according to the affidavit, which was signed by Price.
Price wrote a second staff member corroborated that the patient’s head had been tied to the bed with multiple knots, adding it took the duo roughly five minutes to free the patient.
They also noted that as of that Monday, the patient appeared to have not been bathed over the weekend, citing matted, smelly hair.
In a phone call with Price, Cross told the officer she tied a scarf around the patient’s hair because it was interfering with caring for the patient and ascribed the patient’s inability to move her head to the scarf becoming tangled.
“She believes that [the patient] was tossing her head side-to-side and the scarf got wrapped around again,” according to the affidavit.
One of the reporting attendants also showed Price photos of the scarf tied to the patient and the bed.
NOWCAP’s director declined to comment on Cross’s employment status with the facility when contacted on July 24.
This story was published on August 16, 2025.