DAISY Award-Winning Nurse Left for Dead

Wisconsin Nurse Brutally Attacked and Found Frozen to the Ground

Police were shocked to find Carlie Beaudin, 33, a nurse practitioner, frozen to the ground and bleeding from the head on Friday, January 25^th in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a Milwaukee suburb. A snowplow driver found Beaudin frozen to the ground underneath a car early last Friday. Beaudin was still alive when authorities arrived at the scene. According to police, she had a weak pulse at the time of their arrival and died soon after.

Police took Kenneth Freeman, 27, into custody that same day in connection with Carlie Beaudin’s death. Freeman was fired a few months ago after working as a parking valet at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where Beaudin had also previously worked. Froedtert Hospital also shares a parking structure with the Medical College of Wisconsin, Beaudin’s employer at the time of her death. Freeman allegedly waited in the parking garage until Beaudin came out to her car where he then carried out the assault.

Tracing Beaudin’s Steps Leading Up to the Attack

According to the criminal complaint filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in court last Tuesday, the police have obtained surveillance video from the parking garage detailing the attack. The police allege that Freeman had hid behind a concrete pillar until Beaudin left the parking garage elevator at around 1 a.m. The two exchanged a few words as Beaudin approached her car, but Freeman reportedly grabbed Beaudin from behind, threw her to the ground before kicking her and stomping on her neck. The police also allege Freeman dragged her into a car and drove her to the spot where she was found before eventually fleeing the scene of the crime.

According to the official autopsy, Beaudin died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck with indications of manual strangulation. Last Friday, shortly after Beaudin was found, Freeman called 911 and admitted he had been involved in the attack. Police took him into custody several minutes later where he was reportedly in possession of Beaudin’s purse and wearing the same jacket he was wearing in the surveillance video at the time of the attack. According to the police compliant filed in court, Freeman stated he “deliberately and purely murdered” Beaudin, but he referred to her as “Ms. Willa.” Police have yet to offer an explanation for Freeman’s misidentification of the victim.

Honoring the Life of Carlie Beaudin – A DAISY Award Winner

Before her death, Carlie Beaudin had made a name for herself as an award-winning nurse, having worked in the healthcare industry for over 10 years. She had worked as a nurse practitioner at the Medical College of Wisconsin since 2014 and at Froedtert Hospital from 2007 to 2014. Speaking to FOX6 local news, officials from Froedtert Hospital remembered Beaudin fondly, saying, “Her presence was felt by all who knew her, providing both warmth and strength to patients as well as mentorship to new advanced practice providers and nurses.”

Beaudin had been a recipient of the prestigious DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award honors excellence in nursing around the country. Anyone associated with a healthcare organization can nominate a nurse for the award, including nurse managers, supervisors, doctors and even patients.

The DAISY Foundation was established as a way of honoring the many men and women that devote their lives to their patients. DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The non-profit organization was created by the family of Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 from complications related to the autoimmune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). His family was truly grateful to the nurses that cared for Patrick up until the time of his death. The Barnes family continues to honor exemplary nurses with this prestigious award, shining a spotlight on those that go above and beyond for their patients. 

Carlie Beaudin received the DAISY Award in January of 2012. At the time, she was working at Froedtert Hospital in the Blood & Marrow Transplant Unit. One of Beaudin’s former patients nominated her for the award, stating, “During my recent stay on the BMT unit, Carlie was extremely compassionate and sensitive in her care of me. She had me at my worst, when I was close to death. Her compassion helped to pull me from the depth of my despair, and I am now recovering at home. Without Carlie’s help, I do not believe I would be here today.”

We spoke to Bonnie Barnes, Co-Founder and President of The DAISY Foundation who warmly added:

‘Carlie personified the kind of nurse we created The DAISY Award to honor – filled with extraordinary compassion for her patients.  Her tragic death is a terrible loss not only to her family and friends who loved her but also to her community to which she dedicated her special caring gifts, and to the nursing profession as a whole.  She will always be a DAISY Nurse.’

https://www.daisyfoundation.org/daisy-award/honorees/Carlie-Beaudin