Kathleen Dymes found dead; Croton mom guilty in 6-year-old daughter's drug death

ARDSLEY - Kathleen Dymes, a former nurse who had drug addictions and pleaded guilty to contributing to her  6-year-old daughter's overdose death in 2015, was found dead in a local motel, authorities said.

Dymes' body was found at 5:15 a.m. Friday at the Apple Motor Inn on Saw Mill River Road, Ardsley Police Chief Emil Califano said Monday. The emergency call to police involved a woman who needed assistance.

 "When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive female and started CPR until Greenburgh medics responded," Califano said.

He said Dymes was taken to Dobbs Ferry Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office will determine a cause of death, he said.

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Police found no evidence of foul play or of drugs or drug paraphernalia, Califano said.

"We have no indication other than medical distress," Califano said. "Until the ME comes up with a report, we won't know. We usually get a cause of death to close out a case."

Dymes had been sentenced to probation in April 2016, a year after her daughter, Lacey Carr, was found dead in a Croton-on-Hudson bedroom strewn with drugs, painkillers and alcohol on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015.

The girl died from ingesting a fatal combination that included morphine, Benadryl and diazepam, the generic form of Valium. Dymes was found unconscious near her daughter in the family home.

Dymes had pleaded guilty in January 2016 to criminally negligent homicide, child endangerment and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Dymes' lawyer, Peter Tilem, said Monday that he'd spoken to her family and the authorities.

"This is a tragic end to what has been a tragic life," Tilem said. 

Dymes, once a registered nurse, had a history of drug abuse and a criminal record.

As early as 2002, she was sanctioned by the state for stealing Demerol for her personal use from the nursing home where she worked. 

Drunken-driving charges followed in 2005, as well as a 2007 charge of making a false report and a 2010 case out of Albany for allegedly filing a false time sheet and another disciplinary action by the state in 2012 after a drunken-driving conviction.

At the time of her daughter's death, Dymes was found near two handwritten suicide notes, according to prosecutors, who said she tried to kill herself after seeing that Lacey had died.

Dymes spent two weeks in a coma and has spent time hospitalized for various injuries, including circulation damage to her legs and a broken foot that hampered her during rehabilitation.

Westchester County Judge Barbara Zambelli opted for probation instead of prison, saying Dymes had "suffered more than a criminal sentence could ever accomplish."

Dymes had lived at the Apple Motor Inn for the past year and a half, said Sid Ghandhi, a motel employee. She lived there with her husband, David Carr, according to Ghandi and her lawyer.

Tilem said Monday that Dymes had suffered many physical and psychological injuries after she realized her daughter had died.

"I don't think she ever recovered from her daughter's death," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised we find out the woman was unable to cope with the extent of the damage. It's terribly sad."

Calling hours for Dymes are scheduledWednesday from 2-4 and 5-7 p.m. at St. Christopher's Inn (Graymoor) in Garrison. A prayer service will follow. Cremation will be private.

Twitter: @lohudlegal