Travis County District Attorney’s Office Announces Indictments Against Harvest Renaissance – Austin, LLC, and Two of Its Supervisory Employees in the Death of an Elderly Resident During the 2021 Winter Storm Power Outages
Travis County, TX — Today, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that on July 22, 2025, a Travis County grand jury indicted Harvest Renaissance – Austin, LLC, and its former employees, Executive Director Mendi Ramsay and Wellness Director Rochelle Alvarado, for the offense of Injury to an Elderly Person.
On February 17, 2021, during the winter storm that caused power outages, employees of Harvest Renaissance – Austin, LLC, working at their Renaissance Austin Assisted Living Facility, failed to promptly move and transport an elderly and disabled resident of the facility, 73-year-old Cynthia Pierce, to a warmer area within the facility that was readily available after finding her in an unheated room with the windows open. Mrs. Pierce was transported to a hospital, where she died of hypothermia.
The indictment returned by the grand jury alleges that the staff’s criminal negligence by omission resulted in bodily injury to Mrs. Pierce, as they failed to properly care for her and did not notify the Texas Health and Human Services Commission of the power outage during the winter storm. The staff’s conduct was authorized by high-level managerial agents, specifically Mendi Ramsay or Rochelle Alvarado, acting on behalf of Harvest Renaissance-Austin, LLC, within the scope of their official duties.
In January 2024, the Public Integrity & Complex Crimes Division of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office received a complaint to review this case from the victim’s family’s civil counsel.
After receiving their request for review, we found that the Austin Police Department had an ongoing investigation and subsequently worked with APD Homicide Detective Brice Bishop through the presentation of the case to the Grand Jury.
“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. All of the cases are in the 403rd Judicial District Court.
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