09/09/2025
In 2021, our office committed to holding powerful actors who engaged in criminal conduct accountable. In the past two weeks, we have announced cases involving corporations and their employees engaging in criminal activity that exposed people to dangerous working or living conditions.
Last week, we revealed that a Travis County grand jury indicted Harvest Renaissance – Austin, LLC, along with two former employees, for the offense of Injury to an Elderly Person.
This incident occurred during the winter storm in February 2021 that caused widespread power outages in our state. Employees at the Renaissance Austin Assisted Living Facility, operated by Harvest Renaissance – Austin, LLC, failed to promptly move and transport a 73-year-old disabled resident, Cynthia Pierce, to a warmer area of the facility, even though a warmer area in the facility was readily available. Mrs. Pierce was found in an unheated room with the windows open and was later transported to a hospital, where she ultimately died of hypothermia.
The grand jury indictment alleges that the staff’s criminal negligence resulted in bodily injury to Mrs. Pierce. They failed to provide proper care and did not notify the Texas Health and Human Services Commission about the power outage during the winter storm. The staff's conduct was authorized by high-level managerial agents who acted on behalf of Harvest Renaissance – Austin, LLC, within the scope of their official duties.
“Our hearts continue to break for the family of Cynthia Pierce,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza. “All families should know that when their loved ones reside in an assisted living facility, they will be safe. When employers and their employees engage in criminal conduct and expose vulnerable people to dangerous living conditions, this office will hold them accountable.”
“We are grateful that the District Attorney’s Office is pursuing justice in this case,” said Holly Ferguson, Cynthia Pierce's daughter. “Harvest misrepresented themselves as a licensed care facility, able to provide care rooted in dignity, safety, and compassion. Their misrepresentation and their gross negligence led directly to my Mom’s death. My Mom was left alone and freezing, and it shouldn't have happened. We hope this criminal case will force Harvest to take responsibility for their failings and make permanent changes so that something like this never happens again.”
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office’s Public Integrity & Complex Crimes Division is prosecuting the cases against the defendants and the corporate defendant in the 403rd Judicial District Court.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/frozen-to-death-nursing-home-management-charged-in-73-year-olds-death/
