A Dallas woman was found dead at a North Carolina group home, and the autopsy released last week says what happened to her in her final six months---

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A Dallas woman was found dead at a North Carolina group home, and the autopsy released last week says what happened to her in her final six months

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Published: May 27, 2026 06:30 am

Newly released autopsy records confirm that Aaliyah Fortner, a 23-year-old Dallas woman, died in October 2025 from “calorie malnutrition due to inadequate nutritional intake due to caregiver neglect.” She reportedly lost 60 pounds in six months and weighed only 84 pounds at the time of her death. The medical examiner released the results on May 20, as reported by True Crime News.

Aaliyah, who was nonverbal, was found dead at the Gastonia, North Carolina group home where she resided. Her stepmother, Candy Fortner, said she had found the home through state resources and believed it would be a safe and supportive environment, noting that other individuals with disabilities also lived there.
The autopsy findings follow the November 2025 arrests of Marlo Wallace, 58, and Vera Williams, 54, the alleged caregivers at the home. Both face charges of patient abuse and neglect and assaulting a person with a disability. Wallace received an additional charge of concealing a death.
According to an arrest warrant, Wallace and Williams allegedly beat and kicked Aaliyah and used a Taser on her in the month before her death. The district attorney stated that home security footage allegedly showed Williams and Wallace engaging in “some of the worst and degrading abuse, both physically and verbal” he had witnessed in his career. Surveillance footage used as evidence in cases of caregiver abuse has featured in other prosecutions as well, including a Georgia case involving a worker at an autism therapy center who was arrested after footage showed her stepping on a disabled five-year-old patient.

During their November 2025 hearing, Wallace attempted to claim self-defense, asserting that Aaliyah would enter her room at night and bite her. The autopsy’s finding of severe malnutrition, however, points directly to prolonged neglect rather than a reactive confrontation.
Wallace’s history raises further concerns about how she remained a licensed caregiver. Reports indicate she had previously held guardianship of another nonverbal man for 15 years, but he was removed from her care in 2023 due to neglect. A witness who testified at that guardianship hearing, Alonda Nedab, stated that her own daughter had also lived in Wallace’s group home and that she had removed her after witnessing the alleged neglect firsthand.
North Carolina requires facilities caring for dependent adults to be licensed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Adult Care Homes with seven or more beds and Family Care Homes with two to six beds must meet standards adopted by the North Carolina Medical Care Commission, covering residents’ rights, personnel training, health and personal care services, medication administration, and nutrition.
The NCDHHS publishes annual compliance summaries under the Keys Amendment, Section 1616(e) of the Social Security Act, for facilities where a significant number of Supplemental Security Income recipients may reside. Aaliyah’s death from malnutrition points to a catastrophic failure to meet those nutritional standards. The risks that arise when care systems fail people with disabilities have surfaced in other cases as well, including a case in which a mother and her disabled daughter were found dead at their home, with the coroner citing extreme isolation as a contributing factor.
A woman who had previously worked with Aaliyah described her as someone who “would warm your heart” once she saw your patience and got comfortable with you. Legal proceedings against Wallace and Williams are ongoing.

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