COLUMBUS- Six employees of Whetstone Gardens and Care Center in Columbus and a contracted nurse practitioner were indicted Wednesday, on a combined 34 charges.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said that three nurses were charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The employees are accused of neglecting two patients under their care.

In the first case, three nurses were indicted by a Franklin County grand jury after an investigation revealed they failed to properly treat serious wounds on a patient who died in 2017.

"This man literally rotted to death," Yost said.

Five employees were also indicted on charges of forgery and/or gross patient neglect with regard to the second patient, who suffered physical harm as a result of inadequate care she received.

The indictment said in this case, the nursing staff repeatedly falsified medical records and forged staff signatures—even going so far as to say the patient received care at times she wasn’t at the facility.

“This case goes to the heart of protecting the unprotected,” said Yost. “These victims were completely dependent on others for day-to-day care, which their families trusted Whetstone Gardens to provide. Instead of providing that care, evidence shows these nurses forced the victims to endure awful mistreatment and then lied about it. This is gut-wrenching for anyone who has entrusted a care facility with the well-being and safety of a loved one.”

According to Whetstone's spokesperson Ryan Stubenrauch, most of the employees were fired and two others have been suspended pending this investigation. While he admits the events are tragic, he disagrees with Yost's comment regarding the state of the first patient that died.

"The care that was provided in our facility did not let and would never let anyone rott. That just doesn't happen," Stubenrauch said.

All employees were indicted in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

The Attorney General's Office is prosecuting the cases.